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In the words of captain the England captain, England were delivered a harsh "reality check" as Australia won the prestigious series.

The Kangaroos' decisive 14-4 win at the Merseyside venue on Saturday gave them a 2-0 series lead, making next week's sold-out third Test a academic contest.

The national squad had come into the series harbouring hopes of sending Australia to their first Ashes series defeat since 1970.

Recently, they had enjoyed a dominant victory over Tonga and a 2-0 triumph over the Samoan team. But as the Rugby League Ashes resumed after a long break, England were unable to make the leap against the top-ranked team.

"No excuses from us. There were enough sessions to execute properly on the field, and it's clear we've quite done that," the captain told.

"Full marks to the Kangaroos. They were excellent defensively. But there's plenty to improve. We're probably not as strong as we thought we were entering this series.

"This serves as a valuable reality check for us, and [there is] loads to develop."

Australia 'Arrive and Prove Ruthless'

After being soundly beaten in an sloppy showing at the national stadium, England's were significantly better on Saturday back in the rugby league heartlands of the North.

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

Significantly, the English team have now managed just one score over two full matches, with player the forward barging over late on in the setback in London.

In contrast, Australia have racked up half a dozen in two games - and when mistakes began to appear in the hosts' play just after the half-time, it was a case of certainty, they were going to be made to pay.

First the playmaker crossed, and then so too did the forward. From being level at 4-4, the home side were trailing by 10.

"Proud for the majority of the game. In my view for 70 minutes we were good," said the coach.

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

"We're heartbroken. So proud the players had a go but so disappointed with that post-interval, which hurt us significantly."

While the next World Cup in Oceania is just under 12 months away, England's short-term goal will be on trying to restore some pride, preventing a series whitewash and eradicating the errors that annoyed Wane.

"I hoped to see additional intensity directed toward Australia. I wanted us to maintain momentum in the game - we fell short last week," added the veteran coach.

"We managed this week. The issue is a lack of precision in our offense where we could have put them under increased strain. It's essential to stop each of [tries] better.

"Credit to Australia - that is no detriment to them. They arrive and are merciless when they seize opportunities, and we failed to be, but in defense we must do improve.

"They will be focused to win 3-0 and we need to be obsessed to make it 2-1. I've told that to the squad. This must become 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 Increase in Domestic Competition

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

However the coach argues that the quality of the NRL - and level of the State of Origin matches between NSW and QLD - provide a superior preparation for competing at the top of the global stage than what is on offer in the Europe.

The England coach commented that the congested domestic league fixture schedule allowed little opportunity for him to train his players during the campaign, which will only pose additional concerns around how the national team can close the divide to the Kangaroos before travelling to Oceania in 2026.

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

"England play ten to fifteen a year. We need highly competitive games to boost the domestic league and increase our prospects 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 despite having the full backing of everyone 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 it's not the cause we got beaten today."