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In the words of skipper the England captain, England were given a brutal "sobering lesson" as the Kangaroos secured the coveted Ashes trophy.

The Kangaroos' 14-4 victory at the stadium in Liverpool on Saturday gave them a commanding series edge, making the upcoming sold-out third Test a dead rubber.

The England team had come into the series harbouring hopes of sending Australia to their first Ashes series defeat since over five decades ago.

Over the last 24 months, they had enjoyed a 3-0 series win over the Tongan side and a 2-0 triumph over Samoa. But as the prestigious competition returned after a long break, England were failed to make the leap against the top-ranked team.

"No excuses from us. We've had enough sessions to execute properly on the pitch, and it's clear we've achieved that," the captain stated.

"Full marks to the Kangaroos. They proved strong in defense. But we've got loads to improve. It seems not as good as we expected we were going into this series.

"So it's a necessary wake-up call for us, and [there is] loads to improve on."

The Kangaroos 'Turn Up and Are Merciless'

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

During an energetic opening period, the home side forced mistakes from the Australians and had all the field position and ball control, but unfortunately did not convert opportunities on the scoreboard.

Tellingly, the English team have now scored just one try over 160 minutes, with St Helens hooker Daryl Clark barging over late on in the defeat in the capital.

In contrast, the Kangaroos have racked up six so far - and when blunders began to affect the England's play just after the interval, it was a case of certainty, they were going to be heavily penalized.

Initially Cameron Munster crossed, 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. In my view for 70 minutes we were good," said Wane.

"The drop in intensity for a brief period after the break damaged us greatly. Munster's try was soft and should never happen in a Test match.

"We're devastated. So proud the players had a dig but so disappointed with that second-half lapse, which hurt us dearly."

Although the next World Cup in Australia and Papua New Guinea is just under next year, the team's short-term goal will be on attempting to salvage honor, avoiding a series whitewash and addressing the errors that frustrated Wane.

"I hoped to see more thrown at Australia. I wanted us to apply sustained attack in the game - we failed to deliver last week," added the veteran coach.

"We did this week. The issue is a bit of detail in our attack where we could have put them under increased strain. It's essential to defend both [tries] more effectively.

"Fair play to Australia - that is not a criticism to them. They perform and are ruthless when they seize opportunities, and we weren't, but in defense we must do better.

"The Australians will be focused to win all three Tests and we need to be obsessed to make it 2-1. I've told that to the squad. It has to be our primary goal. It will be a tough week but the side that desires it the greatest will get the win next week."

Intensity Needs to Elevate in Super League

England have participated in a comparable number of international fixtures to the Kangaroos since the previous global tournament in 2022.

However the coach argues that the quality of the Australian league - and standard of the domestic rivalry matches between New South Wales and Queensland - deliver a much better grounding for competing at the highest level of the global stage than what is available in the UK.

Wane commented that the congested Super League fixture list left little opportunity for him to train his squad during the campaign, which will only pose further questions around how England can narrow the difference to the Kangaroos before heading to Oceania in the next World Cup.

"They play a large number of Test matches in their competition," he remarked.

"We play 10-15 a year. It's crucial demanding games to enhance the competition and boost our prospects of succeeding in these high-stakes fixtures.

"It was impossible to even practice with the players. We never trained together in the campaign and I had the complete support of all clubs in the domestic competition.

"I have also been in the boots of the club managers that need to win games. The competition is that tight. It's a pity but that's not the cause we got beaten today."