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As stated by skipper the England captain, the national team were handed a harsh "wake-up call" as Australia won the Rugby League Ashes.

The Kangaroos' 14-4 victory at the stadium in Liverpool on Saturday gave them a unassailable 2-0 advantage, making next week's final match in Leeds a academic contest.

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

In the past two years, they had secured a dominant victory over Tonga and a 2-0 triumph over the Samoan team. But as the historic rivalry resumed after a 22-year absence, the English were failed to take the next step against the top-ranked team.

"We take full responsibility. We've had enough sessions to execute properly on the pitch, and I don't think we've managed that," the captain stated.

"Full marks to the Kangaroos. They proved excellent defensively. But there's loads to work on. We're probably not as prepared as we thought we were entering this series.

"So it's a necessary reality check for us, and we have plenty to improve on."

The Kangaroos 'Show Up and Prove Ruthless'

After being heavily outplayed in an sloppy showing at the national stadium, England's were markedly enhanced on Saturday back in the rugby league heartlands of northern England.

In a rousing first half, the home side elicited errors from the Australians and had dominant territory and possession, but importantly did not convert opportunities on the points tally.

Significantly, England have now managed just a single touchdown over the series so far, with player the forward scoring late on in the setback in the capital.

Conversely, Australia have racked up six across the series - and when mistakes began to affect the hosts' play just after the interval, it was a case of certainty, they were going to be made to pay.

Initially the playmaker scored, and then so too did Hudson Young. From being level at four-all, the home side were down by double digits.

"Satisfied for the majority of the game. I thought for 70 minutes we were solid," said Wane.

"The lapse for 10 minutes after half-time damaged us immensely. Munster's try was easy and should never happen in a Test match.

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

While the upcoming global tournament in the Southern Hemisphere is just under next year, England's primary concern will be on trying to regain respect, preventing a clean sweep and eliminating the issues that irritated Wane.

"I hoped to see greater effort thrown at 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. It's just a bit of detail in our offense where we could have applied under greater stress. We need to defend both [tries] more effectively.

"Fair play to Australia - that is no detriment to them. They perform and are merciless when they capitalize, and we failed to be, but defensively we can and should do enhance.

"The Australians will be focused to win all three Tests and we need to be equally determined to make it 2-1. I've said that to the squad. It has to be our main aim. It will be a difficult week but whoever desires it the greatest will emerge victorious next week."

Competitive Edge Needs to Improve in Domestic Competition

England have played a similar number of international fixtures to the Kangaroos since the last World Cup in 2022.

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

The England coach commented that the packed domestic league fixture schedule allowed no time for him to train his players during the season, which will only raise further questions around how England can narrow the difference to the Kangaroos before heading to the Southern Hemisphere in 2026.

"The Australians play a lot of internationals in their competition," Wane stated.

"We have 10-15 a year. It's crucial highly competitive games to improve the domestic league and increase our chances of winning these high-stakes fixtures.

"It was impossible to even train with the squad. There was no chance to trained together in the campaign and I had the total cooperation of all clubs in the domestic competition.

"I understand in the boots of the club managers that need to win games. The competition is that tight. It's unfortunate but it's not the cause we got beaten today."