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As stated by captain George Williams, England were delivered a brutal "wake-up call" as the Kangaroos clinched the coveted Ashes trophy.

Australia's 14-4 victory at the stadium in Liverpool on the weekend gave them a commanding series edge, making next week's Headingley encounter a academic contest.

The England team had come into the series dreaming of sending the Kangaroos to their initial series loss since 1970.

Over the last 24 months, they had achieved a 3-0 series win over Tonga and a success over the Samoan team. But as the prestigious competition returned after a two-decade hiatus, England were failed to take the next step against the world champions.

"We're not making excuses. There were enough preparations to execute properly on the pitch, and I don't think we've quite done that," the captain stated.

"Full marks to the Kangaroos. They proved good in defense. But there's plenty to work on. We're probably not as strong as we expected we were entering this series.

"So it's a good lesson for us, and [there is] loads to improve on."

Australia 'Turn Up and Prove Clinical'

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

During an energetic opening period, England elicited errors from the Australians and had dominant territory and possession, but crucially did not make it count on the points tally.

Tellingly, England have now scored just one try over 160 minutes, with player the forward powering through late on in the defeat in the capital.

In contrast, Australia have racked up six in two games - and when mistakes began to creep into the England's play just after the half-time, it was a case of certainty, they were going to be severely punished.

First Cameron Munster went over, and then so too did the forward. From being level at 4-4, the home side were 10 points adrift.

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

"The drop in intensity for a brief period after the break cost us severely. The first try was easy and should never happen in a international fixture.

"We're deeply disappointed. So proud the squad had a dig but very frustrated with that post-interval, which hurt us dearly."

While the upcoming global tournament in the Southern Hemisphere is just under a year from now, England's primary concern will be on attempting to restore some pride, preventing a series whitewash and addressing the mistakes that annoyed the coach.

"I wanted to see greater effort thrown at the opposition. I wanted us to build pressure in the game - we didn't do that last week," added the 61-year-old.

"We did this week. The issue is a bit of detail in our offensive play where we could have put them under increased strain. It's essential to defend both [tries] better.

"Fair play to the Kangaroos - that is not a criticism to them. They perform and are merciless when they get a chance, and we weren't, but in defense we must do better.

"The Australians will be obsessed to win all three Tests and we need to be obsessed to make it a respectable scoreline. I've told that to the squad. This must become our obsession. It will be a tough week but the side that desires it the greatest will secure victory next week."

Intensity Must to Improve in Super League

The English side have played a comparable number of Test matches to Australia since the previous global tournament in recent years.

Yet the coach argues that the strength of the Australian league - and quality of the State of Origin matches between NSW and Queensland - deliver a superior preparation for competing at the top of the international game than what is available in the UK.

Wane added that the packed domestic league calendar left no time for him to train his players during the campaign, which will only raise further questions around how England can close the divide to the Kangaroos before heading to Oceania in the next World Cup.

"They play a lot of internationals in their competition," Wane remarked.

"We have 10-15 a year. It's crucial really intense games to enhance the competition and boost our chances of winning these types of matches.

"I couldn't even train with the squad. There was no chance to trained together in the season and I had the complete support of everyone in Super League.

"I have also been in the boots of the club managers that need to win games. The league is that tight. It's a pity but it's not the cause we lost today."