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As stated by captain the England captain, England were handed a harsh "sobering lesson" as the Kangaroos clinched the prestigious series.

Australia's 14-4 triumph at the Merseyside venue on Saturday gave them a unassailable 2-0 advantage, making the upcoming sold-out third Test a meaningless fixture.

The national squad had come into the series dreaming of sending Australia to their maiden Ashes setback since over five decades ago.

Over the last 24 months, they had secured a dominant victory over the Tongan side and a success over Samoa. But as the prestigious competition resumed after a two-decade hiatus, England were failed to make the leap against the top-ranked team.

"No excuses from us. There were enough sessions to execute properly on the field, and I don't think we've achieved that," Williams told.

"Australia deserve praise. They were strong defensively. But there's a lot to address. We're probably not as prepared as we believed we were going into this series.

"This serves as a valuable reality check for us, and [there is] loads to develop."

Australia 'Turn Up and Prove Clinical'

Having been soundly beaten in an sloppy showing at the national stadium, England's were significantly better on Saturday back in the rugby league heartlands of England's north.

During an energetic initial stages, England elicited errors from the Australians and had dominant territory and ball control, but importantly did not convert opportunities on the points tally.

Significantly, England have now managed just a single touchdown over two full matches, with player the forward powering through late on in the setback in London.

On the other hand, the Kangaroos have scored half a dozen so far - and when blunders began to creep into the England's play just after the half-time, it was a case of when, not if, they were going to be severely punished.

Initially Cameron Munster crossed, and then so too did Hudson Young. From being tied at four-all, England were trailing by 10.

"Satisfied for the bulk 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 hurt us greatly. The first try was soft and should not be scored in a international fixture.

"The team is devastated. Extremely pleased the players had a dig but so disappointed with that second-half lapse, which cost us dearly."

Although the upcoming global tournament in Oceania is just under a year from now, England's immediate focus will be on attempting to salvage honor, preventing a series whitewash and addressing the issues that irritated the coach.

"I hoped to see greater effort directed toward the opposition. I wanted us to apply sustained attack 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 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 no slight to them. They perform and are clinical when they get a chance, and we failed to be, but defensively we can and should do better.

"The Australians will be focused to win the series whitewash and we need to be equally determined to make it 2-1. I've told that to the players. This must become our primary goal. It's going to be a challenging week but the side that desires it the greatest will emerge victorious next week."

Competitive Edge Needs to Elevate in Super League

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

However the coach believes that the caliber of the NRL - and standard of the State of Origin matches between New South Wales and Queensland - deliver a superior foundation for competing at the highest level of the international game than what is on offer in the UK.

Wane added that the congested Super League fixture schedule left no time for him to train his squad during the season, which will only pose further questions around how the national team can close the divide to Australia before travelling to Oceania in the next World Cup.

"The Australians participate in a lot of internationals in their competition," Wane remarked.

"We play ten to fifteen a year. We need demanding games to enhance the domestic league and improve our chances of succeeding in these types of matches.

"It was impossible to even train with the players. We never got on the field in the season and I had the total cooperation of all clubs in the domestic competition.

"I understand in the shoes of the club managers that must to win games. The competition is that packed. It's a pity but that's not the cause we lost today."