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In the words of captain the England captain, the national team were handed a harsh "wake-up call" as Australia clinched the Rugby League Ashes.

The Kangaroos' 14-4 victory at the stadium in Liverpool on Saturday gave them a 2-0 series lead, making next week's sold-out third Test a academic contest.

The England team had entered the series dreaming of inflicting the Kangaroos to their maiden Ashes setback since 1970.

Recently, they had secured a dominant victory over the Tongan side and a 2-0 triumph over Samoa. But as the Rugby League Ashes returned after a 22-year absence, the English were failed to make the leap against the reigning title holders.

"We take full responsibility. We've had enough preparations to perform correctly on the field, and it's clear we've managed that," Williams stated.

"Full marks to the Kangaroos. They were strong defensively. But there's plenty to address. It seems not as strong as we thought we were going into this series.

"So it's a good reality check for us, and there is much to develop."

Australia 'Arrive and Are Clinical'

After being comprehensively defeated in an sloppy showing at Wembley, Wane side's were much improved on Saturday back in the core regions of northern England.

In an inspiring initial stages, England forced mistakes from the Kangaroos and had all the field position and possession, but crucially did not capitalize on the points tally.

Tellingly, the English team have now managed just one score over the series so far, with St Helens hooker the forward scoring late on in the defeat in the capital.

On the other hand, the Kangaroos have scored half a dozen so far - and when blunders began to affect the hosts' play just after the break, it was a case of inevitability, they were going to be made to pay.

Initially Cameron Munster scored, and then so too did Hudson Young. From being level at four-all, England were down by double digits.

"Satisfied for the bulk of the game. I thought for 70 minutes we were competitive," said the coach.

"The switch off for 10 minutes after the break hurt us severely. The first try was easy and should not be scored in a international fixture.

"The team is deeply disappointed. So proud the squad had a dig but very frustrated with that after half-time, which hurt us significantly."

Although the next World Cup in the Southern Hemisphere is just under a year from now, England's primary concern will be on attempting to regain respect, preventing a clean sweep and eliminating the mistakes that frustrated the coach.

"I hoped to see more directed toward Australia. My aim was us to maintain momentum in the game - we failed to deliver last week," added the veteran coach.

"We did this week. The issue is a minor refinements in our offensive play where we could have applied under increased strain. We need to defend both [tries] better.

"Fair play to the Kangaroos - that is not a criticism to them. They arrive and are ruthless when they seize opportunities, and we failed to be, but defensively we can and should do better.

"They will be focused to win all three Tests and we need to be equally determined 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 challenging week but whoever wants it the greatest will secure victory next week."

Competitive Edge Must to Improve in Domestic Competition

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

However Wane believes that the quality of the Australian league - and level of the State of Origin matches between NSW and QLD - provide a superior grounding for performing at the top of the global stage than what is available in the Europe.

The England coach added that the congested Super League calendar allowed little opportunity for him to train his squad during the season, which will only raise additional concerns around how the national team can narrow the difference to Australia before travelling to Oceania in the next World Cup.

"The Australians play a large number of internationals in their competition," Wane remarked.

"We have ten to fifteen a year. We need demanding games to enhance the domestic league and improve our chances of succeeding in these sorts of games.

"It was impossible to even train with the squad. There was no chance to got on the field in the season and I had the full backing of everyone in Super League.

"I have also been in the position of the club managers that need to win games. The league is that congested. It's a pity but it's not the reason we got beaten today."