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In the words of captain the England captain, England were given a brutal "wake-up call" as the Kangaroos secured the Rugby League Ashes.

The Kangaroos' decisive 14-4 win at the Merseyside venue on Saturday gave them a unassailable 2-0 advantage, making the upcoming sold-out third Test a dead rubber.

Shaun Wane's side had come into the series harbouring hopes of inflicting Australia to their maiden Ashes setback since the 1970s.

Over the last 24 months, they had enjoyed a dominant victory over Tonga and a 2-0 triumph over Samoa. But as the historic rivalry resumed after a two-decade hiatus, the English were failed to take the next step against the world champions.

"No excuses from us. We've had enough training periods to get it right on the field, and I don't think we've achieved that," Williams stated.

"Full marks to the Kangaroos. They were strong defensively. But there's a lot to improve. It seems not as good as we expected we were going into this series.

"So it's a necessary wake-up call for us, and we have plenty to improve on."

The Kangaroos 'Turn Up and Prove Clinical'

Having been heavily outplayed in an mistake-ridden performance at Wembley, Wane side's were significantly better on the weekend back in the traditional strongholds of England's north.

In a rousing first half, England elicited errors from the Kangaroos and had superior positioning and ball control, but crucially did not make it count on the scoreboard.

Significantly, the English team have now scored just one score over the series so far, with player Daryl Clark barging over late on in the setback in the capital.

Conversely, the Kangaroos have accumulated half a dozen across the series - and when errors began to creep into the hosts' play just after the break, it was a case of when, not if, they were going to be heavily penalized.

Initially the playmaker scored, and then so too did the forward. From being tied at four-all, England were 10 points adrift.

"Proud for the majority of the game. I thought for 70 minutes we were good," said the coach.

"The drop in intensity for a brief period after the break damaged us greatly. Munster's try was easy and should not be scored in a international fixture.

"We're devastated. So proud the squad had a go but very frustrated with that after half-time, which cost us significantly."

While the upcoming global tournament in Australia and Papua New Guinea is just under next year, England's immediate focus will be on trying to salvage honor, preventing a 3-0 sweep and eliminating the issues that irritated Wane.

"I wanted to see more thrown at the opposition. I wanted us to build pressure in the game - we failed to deliver last week," added the 61-year-old.

"We did this week. The issue is a bit of detail in our offense where we could have put them under greater stress. We need to stop each of [tries] with greater resolve.

"Credit to the Kangaroos - that is no detriment to them. They perform and are ruthless when they get a chance, and we weren't, but in defense we must do enhance.

"They will be focused to win 3-0 and we need to be obsessed to make it a respectable scoreline. I've told that to the squad. It has to be our obsession. It's going to be a challenging week but the side that strives for it the greatest will get the win next week."

Intensity Needs to Increase in Domestic Competition

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

Yet Wane argues that the strength of the Australian league - and standard of the State of Origin matches between NSW and QLD - provide a much better preparation for performing at the highest level of the global stage than what is on offer in the UK.

Wane added that the hectic domestic league fixture list allowed no time for him to coach his players during the season, which will only pose additional concerns around how the national team can close the divide to the Kangaroos before travelling to the Southern Hemisphere in 2026.

"They play a large number of internationals in their league," Wane stated.

"England play ten to fifteen a year. We need highly competitive games to boost the domestic league and improve our prospects of winning these high-stakes fixtures.

"It was impossible to even practice with the players. We never trained together in the campaign and despite having the full backing of everyone in Super League.

"I have also been in the shoes of the club managers that must to win games. The competition is that tight. It's a pity but it's not the reason we were defeated today."