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According to skipper George Williams, the national team were handed a stark "sobering lesson" as Australia secured the Rugby League Ashes.

The Kangaroos' decisive 14-4 win at the Merseyside venue on Saturday gave them a 2-0 series lead, making next week's Headingley encounter a dead rubber.

The England team had come into the series holding aspirations of inflicting the Kangaroos to their maiden Ashes setback since over five decades ago.

Over the last 24 months, they had enjoyed a dominant victory over Tonga and a 2-0 triumph over the Samoan team. But as the prestigious competition resumed after a long break, England were failed to advance further against the reigning title holders.

"No excuses from us. There were enough preparations to execute properly on the pitch, and I don't think we've managed that," the captain stated.

"Australia deserve praise. They proved excellent in defense. But we've got a lot to work on. We're probably not as prepared as we thought we were going into this series.

"So it's a valuable lesson for us, and there is much to enhance."

Australia 'Turn Up and Prove Clinical'

After being heavily outplayed in an sloppy showing at the national stadium, Wane side's were markedly enhanced on Saturday back in the traditional strongholds of northern England.

In an inspiring opening period, England elicited errors from the Kangaroos and had superior positioning and possession, but crucially did not capitalize on the points tally.

Significantly, England have now scored just one try over two full matches, with player the forward powering through late on in the setback in London.

Conversely, Australia have accumulated half a dozen across the series - and when mistakes began to affect the hosts' play just after the break, it was a case of inevitability, they were going to be severely punished.

First Cameron Munster crossed, and then so too did the forward. From being level at four-all, England were down by double digits.

"Proud for the majority of the game. In my view for 70 minutes we were solid," said Wane.

"The lapse for 10 minutes after half-time hurt us immensely. The first try was easy and should never happen in a international fixture.

"We're devastated. So proud the players had a dig but so disappointed with that second-half lapse, which hurt us dearly."

While the next World Cup in the Southern Hemisphere is just under next year, England's immediate focus will be on trying to restore some pride, avoiding a clean sweep and addressing the issues that annoyed Wane.

"I hoped to see more directed toward the opposition. My aim was us to maintain momentum in the game - we failed to deliver last week," added the veteran coach.

"We did this week. The issue is a bit of detail in our attack where we could have applied under more pressure. It's essential to stop each of [tries] more effectively.

"Fair play to the Kangaroos - that is not a criticism to them. They perform and are clinical when they seize opportunities, and we failed to be, but in defense we must do enhance.

"The Australians will be obsessed to win 3-0 and we need to be just as focused to make it a respectable scoreline. I've said that to the players. This must become our main aim. It will be a challenging week but the side that wants it the most will secure victory next week."

Competitive Edge Must to Elevate in Super League

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

Yet the coach argues that the strength of the NRL - and standard of the domestic rivalry matches between NSW and QLD - deliver a more effective foundation for performing at the top of the global stage than what is available in the northern hemisphere.

The England coach noted that the hectic Super League fixture schedule left little opportunity for him to train his team during the season, which will only pose further questions around how England can narrow the difference to Australia before heading to the Southern Hemisphere in 2026.

"They participate in a large number of Test matches in their league," Wane remarked.

"England play 10-15 a year. It's crucial highly competitive games to improve the competition and improve our prospects of winning these high-stakes fixtures.

"I couldn't even train with the squad. We never trained together in the season and I had the full backing of everyone in Super League.

"I have also been in the shoes of the club managers that need to win games. The league is that packed. It's unfortunate but that's not the reason we lost today."