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According to leader the England captain, England were given a brutal "reality check" as the Kangaroos secured the Rugby League Ashes.

Australia's 14-4 triumph at the stadium in Liverpool on Saturday gave them a 2-0 series lead, making next week's sold-out third Test a meaningless fixture.

Shaun Wane's side had come into the series holding aspirations of sending Australia to their maiden Ashes setback since the 1970s.

Recently, they had achieved a dominant victory over Tonga and a series win over Samoa. But as the historic rivalry returned after a 22-year absence, the English were unable to make the leap against the world champions.

"We take full responsibility. There were enough training periods to get it right on the pitch, and I don't think we've quite done that," Williams told.

"Australia deserve praise. They were excellent defensively. But we've got loads to work on. It seems not as good as we believed we were going into this series.

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

The Kangaroos 'Arrive and Are Clinical'

Having been soundly beaten in an error-strewn display at the national stadium, Wane side's were markedly enhanced on the weekend back in the core regions of the North.

In a rousing first half, the home side caused turnovers from the Kangaroos and had dominant territory and possession, but crucially did not capitalize on the points tally.

Notably, England have now scored just a single touchdown over 160 minutes, with player the forward scoring late on in the setback in London.

On the other hand, Australia have racked up half a dozen so far - and when mistakes began to appear in the England's play just after the half-time, it was a case of when, not if, they were going to be severely punished.

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

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

"The drop in intensity for a brief period after the break damaged us severely. The first try was soft and should not be scored in a international fixture.

"We're devastated. So proud the players had a fight but very frustrated with that post-interval, which hurt us dearly."

While the upcoming global tournament in Oceania is just under a year from now, England's primary concern will be on trying to restore some pride, avoiding a 3-0 sweep and eradicating the errors that annoyed the coach.

"I hoped to see greater effort directed toward the opposition. I wanted us to apply sustained attack in the game - we didn't do that last week," added the 61-year-old.

"We managed this week. The issue is a bit of detail in our offensive play where we could have applied under greater stress. It's essential to defend both [tries] better.

"Fair play to the Kangaroos - that is no slight to them. They turn up and are clinical when they capitalize, and we weren't, but defensively we must do enhance.

"They will be determined to win all three Tests 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 primary goal. It's going to be a tough 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 played a similar number of Test matches to the Kangaroos since the previous global tournament in 2022.

Yet Wane believes that the caliber of the Australian league - and quality of the domestic rivalry matches between New South Wales and Queensland - provide a superior foundation for performing at the highest level of the international game than what is on offer in the northern hemisphere.

The England coach noted that the packed Super League fixture list allowed little opportunity for him to train his team during the campaign, which will only raise more issues around how England can bridge the gap to Australia before travelling to the Southern Hemisphere in 2026.

"The Australians participate in a lot of Test matches in their league," he remarked.

"England play 10-15 a year. It's crucial really intense games to improve the domestic league and boost our chances of succeeding in these sorts of games.

"It was impossible to even train with the squad. We never got on the field in the season and I had the complete support of all clubs in Super League.

"I have also been in the shoes of the club managers that must to win games. The league is that packed. It's unfortunate but that's not the reason we were defeated today."