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In the words of skipper George Williams, the national team were delivered a brutal "reality check" as Australia won the coveted Ashes trophy.

The Kangaroos' 14-4 triumph at Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium on the weekend gave them a 2-0 series lead, making the upcoming sold-out third Test a dead rubber.

Shaun Wane's side had entered the series holding aspirations of inflicting Australia to their initial series loss since the 1970s.

In the past two years, they had enjoyed a 3-0 series win over the Tongan side and a 2-0 triumph over the Samoan team. But as the prestigious competition returned after a long break, England were failed to advance further against the reigning title holders.

"We're not making excuses. We've had enough preparations to perform correctly on the pitch, and I don't think we've managed that," Williams stated.

"Full marks to the Kangaroos. They proved strong defensively. But there's a lot to address. We're probably not as good as we thought we were entering this series.

"So it's a good wake-up call for us, and there is much to enhance."

The Kangaroos 'Show Up and Are Merciless'

After being heavily outplayed in an sloppy showing at Wembley, England's were much improved on Saturday back in the rugby league heartlands of the North.

In a rousing initial stages, the home side elicited errors from the Kangaroos and had superior positioning and ball control, but crucially did not make it count on the points tally.

Significantly, England have now scored just one try over two full matches, with player the forward powering through late on in the defeat in London.

On the other hand, the Kangaroos have accumulated half a dozen across the series - and when blunders began to affect the hosts' play just after the break, it was a case of certainty, they were going to be severely punished.

First the playmaker crossed, and then so too did Hudson Young. From being tied at 4-4, the home side were 10 points adrift.

"Satisfied for the majority of the game. I thought for most of the match we were solid," said the coach.

"The lapse for a brief period after the break cost us severely. Munster's try was easy and should not be scored in a Test match.

"We're heartbroken. Extremely pleased the players had a fight but very frustrated with that post-interval, which proved costly significantly."

While the upcoming global tournament in Oceania is just under 12 months away, England's primary concern will be on attempting to regain respect, avoiding a 3-0 sweep and eradicating the errors that irritated Wane.

"I hoped to see more directed toward Australia. I wanted us to build pressure in the game - we fell short last week," added the 61-year-old.

"We managed this week. It's just a lack of precision in our offense where we could have applied under more pressure. We need to defend both [tries] better.

"Credit to the Kangaroos - that is no slight to them. They turn up and are clinical when they seize opportunities, and we failed to be, but defensively we must do enhance.

"They will be obsessed to win 3-0 and we need to be just as focused to make it 2-1. I've said that to the players. It has to be our obsession. It will be a challenging week but the side that desires it the greatest will get the win next week."

Competitive Edge Must to Elevate in Domestic Competition

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

Yet the coach argues that the caliber of the NRL - and level of the State of Origin matches between NSW and QLD - deliver a much better grounding for competing at the highest level of the international game than what is available in the UK.

Wane noted that the hectic Super League fixture list allowed little opportunity for him to coach his squad during the season, which will only raise more issues around how England can close the divide to Australia before heading to Oceania in the next World Cup.

"They play a large number of internationals in their competition," he stated.

"England have ten to fifteen a year. We need really intense games to improve the competition and improve our prospects of succeeding in these sorts of games.

"It was impossible to even train with the players. We never got on the field in the season and despite having the total cooperation of everyone in the domestic competition.

"I have also been in the position of the head coaches that must to win games. The league is that congested. It's a pity but that's not the reason we were defeated today."