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In the words of leader George Williams, England were given a stark "reality check" as Australia clinched the Rugby League Ashes.

Australia's 14-4 triumph at the stadium in Liverpool on Saturday gave them a 2-0 series lead, making the upcoming final match in Leeds a dead rubber.

The England team had entered the series harbouring hopes of sending Australia to their maiden Ashes setback since 1970.

Recently, they had achieved a 3-0 series win over Tonga and a 2-0 triumph over Samoa. But as the historic rivalry resumed after a 22-year absence, the English were unable to advance further against the reigning title holders.

"We take full responsibility. We've had enough preparations to perform correctly on the pitch, and I don't think we've managed that," the captain commented.

"Credit to Australia. They proved excellent in defense. But there's plenty to improve. We're probably not as good as we thought we were going into this series.

"This serves as a valuable lesson for us, and there is much to develop."

Australia 'Turn Up and Prove Merciless'

Having been soundly beaten in an error-strewn display at the national stadium, England's were much improved on the weekend back in the traditional strongholds of northern England.

In an inspiring first half, England elicited errors from the Kangaroos and had all the field position and ball control, but importantly did not convert opportunities on the points tally.

Notably, England have now managed just a single touchdown over two full matches, with player the forward barging over late on in the loss in the capital.

In contrast, Australia have racked up half a dozen across the series - and when blunders began to affect the hosts' play just after the interval, it was a case of when, not if, they were going to be severely punished.

Initially the playmaker went over, and then so too did the forward. From being tied at 4-4, the home side were 10 points adrift.

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

"The lapse for a brief period after the break hurt us immensely. The first try was soft and should never happen in a top-level game.

"We're deeply disappointed. Extremely pleased the players had a dig but very frustrated with that second-half lapse, which cost us heavily."

While the upcoming global tournament in Australia and Papua New Guinea is just under 12 months away, England's immediate focus will be on trying to regain respect, preventing a clean sweep and addressing the errors that frustrated the coach.

"I hoped to see more directed toward Australia. My aim was us to build pressure in the game - we fell short last week," added the veteran coach.

"We did this week. The issue is a minor refinements in our offensive play where we could have put them under increased strain. We need to stop each of [tries] with greater resolve.

"Credit to Australia - that is not a criticism to them. They perform and are clinical when they seize opportunities, and we failed to be, but defensively we must do enhance.

"The Australians will be determined to win the series whitewash and we need to be just as focused to make it 2-1. I've said that to the squad. This must become our obsession. It will be a difficult week but the side that strives for it the most will emerge victorious next week."

Competitive Edge Must to Elevate in Super League

The English side have played a comparable number of international fixtures to the Kangaroos since the previous global tournament in 2022.

Yet Wane thinks that the strength of the Australian league - and level of the State of Origin matches between NSW and Queensland - offer a much better foundation for performing at the top of the international game than what is available in the Europe.

The England coach added that the hectic domestic league fixture list left no time for him to work with his squad during the season, which will only pose more issues around how the national team can close the divide to the Kangaroos before heading to the Southern Hemisphere in 2026.

"They play a large number of Test matches in their league," Wane stated.

"We play 10-15 a year. We need really intense games to boost the domestic league and increase our chances of winning these sorts of games.

"I couldn't even practice with the squad. We never got on the field in the season and I had the total cooperation of all clubs in Super League.

"I understand in the shoes of the club managers that need to win games. The league is that packed. It's unfortunate but it's not the reason we got beaten today."