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As stated by leader George Williams, the national team were given a stark "reality check" as Australia secured the coveted Ashes trophy.

The Kangaroos' 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.

Shaun Wane's side had come into the series harbouring hopes of sending the Kangaroos to their initial series loss since the 1970s.

Recently, they had enjoyed a 3-0 series win over Tonga and a success over the Samoan team. But as the Rugby League Ashes returned after a long break, England were failed to advance further against the top-ranked team.

"We're not making excuses. We've had enough sessions to execute properly on the pitch, and it's clear we've quite done that," the captain stated.

"Australia deserve praise. They were excellent defensively. But we've got a lot to improve. We're probably not as good as we believed we were going into this series.

"So it's a necessary lesson for us, and there is much to improve on."

The Kangaroos 'Show Up and Prove Clinical'

After being heavily outplayed in an error-strewn display at Wembley, England's were much improved on Saturday back in the traditional strongholds of northern England.

During an energetic first half, the home side elicited errors from the Kangaroos and had all the field position and possession, but unfortunately did not capitalize on the scoreboard.

Tellingly, the English team have now managed just one try over two full matches, with player Daryl Clark barging over late on in the setback in London.

On the other hand, Australia have racked up half a dozen in two games - and when errors began to affect the England's play just after the break, it was a case of when, not if, they were going to be heavily penalized.

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

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

"The drop in intensity for 10 minutes after the break damaged us greatly. The first try was avoidable and should never happen in a Test match.

"The team is deeply disappointed. So proud the players had a go but so disappointed with that post-interval, which cost us significantly."

Although the upcoming global tournament in the Southern Hemisphere is just under a year from now, the team's immediate focus will be on attempting to regain respect, preventing a series whitewash and eliminating the mistakes that annoyed the coach.

"I hoped to see additional intensity thrown at Australia. I wanted us to maintain momentum in the game - we failed to deliver last week," added the veteran coach.

"We managed this week. It's just a lack of precision in our offense where we could have applied under greater stress. It's essential to stop each of [tries] better.

"Fair play to Australia - that is no slight to them. They perform and are clinical when they seize opportunities, and we failed to be, but defensively we can and should do better.

"The Australians will be focused to win all three Tests and we need to be obsessed to make it 2-1. I've said that to the players. It has to be our primary goal. It will be a tough week but whoever strives for it the most will emerge victorious next week."

Intensity Must to Increase in Super League

The English side have played a similar number of Test matches to Australia since the last World Cup in 2022.

However Wane argues that the strength of the Australian league - and quality of the State of Origin matches between NSW and Queensland - offer a more effective foundation for competing at the highest level of the global stage than what is on offer in the UK.

Wane added that the packed Super League calendar left little opportunity for him to coach his players during the season, which will only pose further questions around how England can close the divide to Australia before travelling to Oceania in 2026.

"They play a lot of Test matches in their league," he added.

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

"I couldn't even train with the squad. We never got on the field in the campaign and despite having the total cooperation of everyone in Super League.

"I have also been in the boots of the head coaches that must to win games. The competition is that tight. It's unfortunate but it's not the cause we got beaten today."