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As stated by leader George Williams, England were given a harsh "sobering lesson" as Australia won the Rugby League Ashes.

The Kangaroos' 14-4 triumph at the Merseyside venue on Saturday gave them a unassailable 2-0 advantage, making the upcoming sold-out third Test a meaningless fixture.

Shaun Wane's side had come into the series dreaming of inflicting the Kangaroos to their initial series loss since the 1970s.

In the past two years, they had secured a dominant victory over the Tongan side and a series win over Samoa. But as the prestigious competition returned after a 22-year absence, England were failed to advance further against the reigning title holders.

"We take full responsibility. We've had enough training periods to perform correctly on the field, and it's clear we've managed that," Williams stated.

"Full marks to the Kangaroos. They proved good defensively. But there's a lot to address. We're probably not as prepared as we thought we were entering this series.

"This serves as a good wake-up call for us, and we have plenty to improve on."

The Kangaroos 'Arrive and Prove Clinical'

Having been soundly beaten in an sloppy showing at the national stadium, Wane side's were markedly enhanced on the weekend back in the traditional strongholds of the North.

In an inspiring first half, England forced mistakes from the Kangaroos and had superior positioning and possession, but unfortunately did not convert opportunities on the scoreboard.

Notably, the English team have now managed just one score over the series so far, with St Helens hooker the forward scoring late on in the defeat in London.

Conversely, the Kangaroos have scored six so far - and when errors began to affect the England's play just after the interval, it was a case of when, not if, they were going to be made to pay.

First Cameron Munster went over, and then so too did Hudson Young. From being tied at 4-4, England were down by double digits.

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

"The lapse for 10 minutes after the break cost us severely. The first try was easy and should not be scored in a Test match.

"The team is devastated. Extremely pleased the squad had a fight but so disappointed with that second-half lapse, which proved costly heavily."

Although the upcoming global tournament in Australia and Papua New Guinea is just under a year from now, the team's immediate focus will be on trying to restore some pride, avoiding a clean sweep and eliminating the mistakes that annoyed Wane.

"I hoped to see more directed toward Australia. My aim was us to apply sustained attack in the game - we didn't do that last week," added the veteran coach.

"We managed this week. It's just a bit of detail in our attack where we could have put them under greater stress. It's essential to defend both [tries] more effectively.

"Credit to Australia - that is no slight to them. They turn up and are merciless when they get a chance, and we failed to be, but defensively we can and should do improve.

"They will be focused to win all three Tests and we need to be obsessed to make it a competitive series. I've said that to the players. It has to be our main aim. It's going to be a challenging week but whoever strives for it the greatest will emerge victorious next week."

Intensity Needs to Improve in Domestic Competition

England have participated in a comparable number of Test matches to Australia since the last World Cup in 2022.

However Wane believes that the quality of the NRL - and standard of the State of Origin matches between New South Wales and Queensland - deliver a much better preparation for performing at the highest level of the international game than what is on offer in the northern hemisphere.

The England coach noted that the congested domestic league fixture schedule left little opportunity for him to coach his team during the season, which will only pose more issues around how England can bridge the gap to the Kangaroos before travelling to Oceania in 2026.

"They participate in a large number of internationals in their competition," he stated.

"England play 10-15 a year. It's crucial really intense games to boost the domestic league and increase our chances of succeeding in these types of matches.

"I couldn't even train with the squad. There was no chance to got on the field in the campaign and despite having the complete support of all clubs in Super League.

"I understand in the shoes of the head coaches that need to win games. The competition is that congested. It's a pity but that's not the reason we lost today."