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According to leader George Williams, the national team were given a brutal "wake-up call" as Australia clinched the Rugby League Ashes.

The Kangaroos' decisive 14-4 win at the stadium in Liverpool on Saturday gave them a 2-0 series lead, making the upcoming final match in Leeds a academic contest.

The national squad had come into the series harbouring hopes of sending the Kangaroos to their first Ashes series defeat since the 1970s.

Over the last 24 months, they had enjoyed a clean sweep over Tonga and a 2-0 triumph over the Samoan team. But as the prestigious competition returned after a two-decade hiatus, the English were unable to make the leap against the reigning title holders.

"No excuses from us. There were enough training periods to get it right on the pitch, and it's clear we've quite done that," the captain told.

"Australia deserve praise. They proved excellent in defense. But there's plenty to improve. We're probably not as strong as we expected we were entering this series.

"This serves as a good lesson for us, and we have plenty to enhance."

Australia 'Turn Up and Prove Merciless'

After being heavily outplayed in an sloppy showing at the national stadium, Wane side's were much improved on the weekend back in the rugby league heartlands of northern England.

In an inspiring first half, the home side forced mistakes from the Kangaroos and had dominant territory and possession, but crucially did not convert opportunities on the scoreboard.

Significantly, the English team have now managed just one try over the series so far, with player Daryl Clark barging over late on in the loss in London.

In contrast, Australia have scored half a dozen in two games - and when errors began to creep into the hosts' play just after the break, it was a case of inevitability, they were going to be severely punished.

First the playmaker crossed, and then so too did Hudson Young. From being tied at four-all, England were down by double digits.

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

"The switch off for 10 minutes after the break cost us immensely. Munster's try was easy and should not be scored in a international fixture.

"We're devastated. Extremely pleased the squad had a dig but so disappointed with that post-interval, which proved costly significantly."

Although the upcoming global tournament in the Southern Hemisphere is just under next year, England's short-term goal will be on attempting to restore some pride, preventing a clean sweep and eliminating the issues that frustrated the coach.

"I wanted to see additional intensity thrown at the opposition. I wanted us to build pressure in the game - we fell short last week," added the veteran coach.

"We did this week. The issue is a minor refinements in our attack where we could have applied under more pressure. We need to defend both [tries] with greater resolve.

"Credit to the Kangaroos - that is not a criticism to them. They turn up and are ruthless when they capitalize, and we weren't, but in defense we can and should do better.

"They will be determined to win all three Tests and we need to be just as focused to make it 2-1. I've said that to the players. It has to be our obsession. It's going to be a difficult week but the side that strives for it the greatest will secure victory next week."

Intensity Needs to Improve in Domestic Competition

The English side have participated in a comparable number of international fixtures to the Kangaroos since the previous global tournament in 2022.

Yet Wane thinks that the strength of the Australian league - and quality of the domestic rivalry matches between New South Wales and Queensland - deliver a more effective grounding for competing at the top of the global stage than what is on offer in the Europe.

Wane noted that the packed Super League calendar allowed little opportunity for him to coach his team during the campaign, which will only pose further questions around how the national team can close the divide to the Kangaroos before travelling to the Southern Hemisphere in the next World Cup.

"The Australians play a lot of Test matches in their league," Wane remarked.

"We play 10-15 a year. We need really intense games to enhance the domestic league and increase our chances of winning these sorts of games.

"I couldn't even practice with the squad. There was no chance to trained together in the campaign and I had the full backing of everyone in Super League.

"I understand in the shoes of the club managers that must to win games. The league is that congested. It's unfortunate but it's not the reason we were defeated today."