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As stated by leader the England captain, the national team were handed a brutal "wake-up call" as the Kangaroos secured the Rugby League Ashes.

The Kangaroos' 14-4 triumph at the stadium in Liverpool on Saturday gave them a commanding series edge, making next week's final match in Leeds a academic contest.

Shaun Wane's side had come into the series harbouring hopes of sending the Kangaroos to their first Ashes series defeat since 1970.

In the past two years, they had enjoyed a dominant victory over Tonga and a 2-0 triumph over Samoa. But as the historic rivalry resumed after a 22-year absence, England were failed to take the next step against the reigning title holders.

"No excuses from us. We've had enough sessions to get it right on the pitch, and it's clear we've quite done that," the captain stated.

"Australia deserve praise. They proved good in defense. But there's plenty to address. We're probably not as prepared as we expected we were entering this series.

"This serves as a good wake-up call for us, and there is much to develop."

The Kangaroos 'Turn Up and Are Clinical'

After being comprehensively defeated in an sloppy showing at the national stadium, England's were significantly better on the weekend back in the core regions of the North.

In a rousing opening period, England elicited errors from the Kangaroos and had all the field position and ball control, but crucially did not convert opportunities on the scoreboard.

Tellingly, England have now scored just a single touchdown over two full matches, with player Daryl Clark powering through late on in the loss in the capital.

Conversely, the Kangaroos have accumulated six in two games - and when errors began to affect the hosts' play just after the break, it was a case of when, not if, they were going to be severely punished.

Initially the playmaker scored, and then so too did Hudson Young. From being level at four-all, the home side were 10 points adrift.

"Proud for the bulk of the game. In my view for most of the match we were good," said the coach.

"The switch off for 10 minutes after the break cost us greatly. The first try was soft and should never happen in a Test match.

"The team is heartbroken. So proud the squad had a dig but so disappointed with that second-half lapse, which proved costly significantly."

While the upcoming global tournament in Australia and Papua New Guinea is just under next year, the team's short-term goal will be on trying to salvage honor, preventing a 3-0 sweep and eliminating the errors that annoyed the coach.

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

"We did this week. The issue is a lack of precision in our offensive play where we could have applied under increased strain. It's essential to stop each of [tries] more effectively.

"Credit to Australia - that is not a criticism to them. They perform and are ruthless when they capitalize, and we failed to be, but in defense we can and should do better.

"The Australians will be focused to win all three Tests and we need to be obsessed to make it a competitive series. I've said that to the players. This must become our main aim. It's going to be a tough week but whoever strives for it the greatest will emerge victorious next week."

Intensity Must to Elevate in Super League

England have participated in a comparable number of Test matches to Australia since the previous global tournament in 2022.

However the coach thinks that the strength of the NRL - and level of the domestic rivalry matches between New South Wales and QLD - offer a much better grounding for performing at the highest level of the international game than what is available in the Europe.

Wane added that the congested domestic league fixture schedule allowed no time for him to coach his team during the campaign, which will only pose further questions around how the national team can close the divide to the Kangaroos before heading to Oceania in 2026.

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

"England have ten to fifteen a year. We need highly competitive games to boost the competition and boost our prospects of succeeding in these sorts of games.

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

"I have also been in the boots of the head coaches that need to win games. The competition is that tight. It's a pity but that's not the reason we lost today."