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In the words of captain the England captain, England were given a stark "sobering lesson" as Australia won the Rugby League Ashes.

The Kangaroos' decisive 14-4 win at the stadium in Liverpool on the weekend gave them a unassailable 2-0 advantage, making next week's sold-out third Test a dead rubber.

The England team had entered the series dreaming of sending the Kangaroos to their maiden Ashes setback since 1970.

In the past two years, they had enjoyed a dominant victory over the Tongan side and a success over Samoa. But as the prestigious competition resumed after a 22-year absence, the English were unable to take the next step against the reigning title holders.

"We're not making excuses. There were enough preparations to get it right on the field, and I don't think we've quite done that," Williams stated.

"Australia deserve praise. They were excellent defensively. But we've got a lot to work on. We're probably not as good as we expected we were entering this series.

"This serves as a valuable lesson for us, and [there is] loads to improve on."

Australia 'Arrive and Prove Ruthless'

Having been comprehensively defeated in an sloppy showing at the national stadium, Wane side's were much improved on Saturday back in the core regions of the North.

In a rousing opening period, England forced mistakes from the Australians and had superior positioning and ball control, but importantly did not make it count on the scoreboard.

Tellingly, the English team have now scored just one score over the series so far, with player Daryl Clark barging over late on in the defeat in London.

Conversely, the Kangaroos have accumulated six across the series - and when errors began to affect the hosts' play just after the interval, it was a case of certainty, they were going to be heavily penalized.

First Cameron Munster crossed, and then so too did the forward. From being level at four-all, the home side were trailing by 10.

"Satisfied for the bulk of the game. I thought for most of the match we were competitive," said Wane.

"The drop in intensity for 10 minutes after the break hurt us severely. The first try was soft and should not be scored in a Test match.

"The team is devastated. So proud the squad had a go but very frustrated with that post-interval, which hurt us heavily."

Although the next World Cup in Australia and Papua New Guinea is just under 12 months away, England's short-term goal will be on trying to restore some pride, avoiding a clean sweep and eradicating the mistakes that irritated Wane.

"I hoped to see more thrown at Australia. I wanted us to maintain momentum in the game - we didn't do that last week," added the veteran coach.

"We did this week. The issue is a lack of precision in our offensive play where we could have applied under increased strain. We need to stop each of [tries] more effectively.

"Fair play to Australia - that is no slight to them. They turn up and are clinical when they get a chance, and we weren't, but in defense we must do enhance.

"They will be obsessed to win all three Tests and we need to be just as focused to make it 2-1. I've said that to the squad. It has to be our primary goal. It's going to be a tough week but the side that wants it the greatest will emerge victorious next week."

Intensity Must to Elevate in Domestic Competition

The English side have played a similar number of international fixtures to Australia since the last World Cup in recent years.

Yet Wane thinks that the caliber of the Australian league - and standard of the domestic rivalry matches between New South Wales and QLD - deliver a much better foundation for performing at the top of the global stage than what is available in the Europe.

Wane commented that the hectic Super League calendar left no time for him to coach his team during the campaign, which will only raise more issues around how England can bridge the gap to the Kangaroos before heading to Oceania in 2026.

"They play a large number of Test matches in their competition," he stated.

"We have ten to fifteen a year. We need really intense games to improve the competition and increase our prospects of winning these sorts of games.

"It was impossible to even train with the squad. We never got on the field in the campaign and despite having the full backing of all clubs in Super League.

"I have also been in the boots of the club managers that must to win games. The league is that tight. It's unfortunate but it's not the reason we got beaten today."