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According to skipper George Williams, the national team were handed a stark "wake-up call" as the Kangaroos secured the Rugby League Ashes.

Australia's decisive 14-4 win at Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium 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 holding aspirations of sending the Kangaroos to their maiden Ashes setback since over five decades ago.

Recently, they had achieved a 3-0 series win over Tonga and a success over Samoa. But as the Rugby League Ashes resumed after a two-decade hiatus, England were failed to take the next step against the top-ranked team.

"We're not making excuses. We've had enough preparations to get it right on the pitch, and I don't think we've achieved that," the captain commented.

"Full marks to the Kangaroos. They were strong defensively. But there's loads to improve. We're probably not as good as we believed we were going into this series.

"This serves as a good reality check for us, and there is much to enhance."

Australia 'Turn Up and Are Ruthless'

After being comprehensively defeated in an error-strewn display at Wembley, England's were markedly enhanced on the weekend back in the traditional strongholds of northern England.

During an energetic initial stages, the home side forced mistakes from the Australians and had dominant territory and ball control, but crucially did not make it count on the scoreboard.

Significantly, the English team have now scored just one score over 160 minutes, with St Helens hooker the forward scoring late on in the setback in the capital.

On the other hand, the Kangaroos have accumulated half a dozen so far - and when blunders began to affect the hosts' play just after the half-time, it was a case of certainty, they were going to be made to pay.

First Cameron Munster crossed, and then so too did Hudson Young. From being level at 4-4, England were 10 points adrift.

"Proud for the bulk of the game. In my view for most of the match we were solid," said Wane.

"The switch off for a brief period after the break damaged us greatly. The first try was avoidable and should not be scored in a Test match.

"We're deeply disappointed. So proud the players had a dig but very frustrated with that second-half lapse, which proved costly significantly."

While the next World Cup in Australia and Papua New Guinea is just under a year from now, England's primary concern will be on trying to salvage honor, avoiding a 3-0 sweep and eliminating the issues that irritated the coach.

"I wanted to see more directed toward Australia. I wanted us to build pressure in the game - we failed to deliver last week," added the veteran coach.

"We did this week. It's just a minor refinements in our offensive play where we could have applied under more pressure. It's essential to defend both [tries] more effectively.

"Fair play to Australia - that is no slight to them. They arrive and are ruthless when they capitalize, and we failed to be, but defensively we can and should do enhance.

"They will be obsessed to win 3-0 and we need to be obsessed to make it a competitive series. I've said that to the squad. This must become our obsession. It's going to be a difficult week but whoever desires it the greatest will get the win next week."

Intensity Must to Elevate in Domestic Competition

The English side have played a comparable number of Test matches to the Kangaroos since the last World Cup in recent years.

However the coach thinks that the quality of the NRL - and standard of the State of Origin matches between New South Wales and Queensland - provide a superior grounding for competing at the top of the global stage than what is on offer in the northern hemisphere.

Wane commented that the congested Super League fixture list allowed little opportunity for him to train his team during the season, which will only raise additional concerns around how England can bridge the gap to Australia before heading to Oceania in the next World Cup.

"The Australians participate in a lot of internationals in their competition," Wane stated.

"We have 10-15 a year. It's crucial highly competitive games to boost the domestic league and increase our prospects of winning these high-stakes fixtures.

"It was impossible to even train with the players. There was no chance to trained together in the season and I had the total cooperation of all clubs in the domestic competition.

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