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As stated by captain George Williams, England were delivered a stark "wake-up call" as the Kangaroos secured the prestigious series.

The Kangaroos' 14-4 triumph at the stadium in Liverpool on Saturday gave them a 2-0 series lead, making next week's final match in Leeds a meaningless fixture.

The England team had entered the series harbouring hopes of inflicting Australia to their maiden Ashes setback since over five decades ago.

Recently, they had secured a clean sweep over the Tongan side and a success over Samoa. But as the historic rivalry returned after a two-decade hiatus, the English were unable to take the next step against the reigning title holders.

"No excuses from us. There were enough training periods to execute properly on the field, and it's clear we've achieved that," the captain told.

"Credit to Australia. They were strong in defense. But we've got a lot to work on. We're probably not as good as we expected we were entering this series.

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

Australia 'Show Up and Are Merciless'

After being soundly beaten in an sloppy showing at the national stadium, Wane side's were much improved on Saturday back in the core regions of northern England.

In an inspiring first half, the home side caused turnovers from the Kangaroos and had superior positioning and possession, but unfortunately did not capitalize on the scoreboard.

Significantly, the English team have now scored just a single touchdown over the series so far, with player the forward barging over late on in the setback in the capital.

Conversely, Australia have scored half a dozen across the series - and when mistakes began to appear in the England's play just after the interval, it was a case of certainty, they were going to be made to pay.

First the playmaker scored, and then so too did Hudson Young. From being level at four-all, the home side were trailing by 10.

"Proud for the bulk of the game. I thought for most of the match we were solid," said Wane.

"The switch off for 10 minutes after the break cost us greatly. Munster's try was soft and should never happen in a top-level game.

"The team is devastated. So proud the players had a fight but very frustrated with that post-interval, which cost us significantly."

While the next World Cup in the Southern Hemisphere is just under 12 months away, England's primary concern will be on attempting to restore some pride, preventing a series whitewash and eradicating the errors that frustrated Wane.

"I wanted to see more thrown at the opposition. I wanted us to maintain momentum in the game - we didn't do that 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 increased strain. It's essential to defend both [tries] better.

"Credit to the Kangaroos - that is not a criticism to them. They arrive and are clinical when they seize opportunities, and we failed to be, but defensively we can and should do improve.

"They will be determined to win 3-0 and we need to be obsessed to make it a respectable scoreline. I've told that to the squad. This must become our primary goal. It will be a challenging week but the side that strives for it the most will get the win next week."

Competitive Edge Must to Increase in Super League

England have participated in a comparable number of international fixtures to Australia since the previous global tournament in 2022.

However the coach thinks that the caliber of the Australian league - and level of the State of Origin matches between New South Wales and QLD - provide a more effective preparation for performing at the highest level of the international game than what is on offer in the northern hemisphere.

Wane added that the congested domestic league fixture list allowed little opportunity for him to work with his squad during the campaign, which will only raise further questions around how the national team can bridge the gap to Australia before heading to the Southern Hemisphere in the next World Cup.

"The Australians play a lot of Test matches in their competition," Wane added.

"We play ten to fifteen a year. We need really intense games to enhance the competition and increase our prospects of succeeding in these sorts of games.

"I couldn't even train with the players. There was no chance to trained together in the campaign and despite having the complete support of all clubs in Super League.

"I understand in the shoes of the head coaches that must to win games. The league is that packed. It's a pity but that's not the reason we got beaten today."