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In the words of leader George Williams, England were given a brutal "reality check" as the Kangaroos won the Rugby League Ashes.

The Kangaroos' decisive 14-4 win at the Merseyside venue on the weekend gave them a unassailable 2-0 advantage, making the upcoming Headingley encounter a meaningless fixture.

The England team had come into the series harbouring hopes of sending the Kangaroos to their initial series loss since over five decades ago.

Over the last 24 months, they had enjoyed a clean sweep over Tonga and a series win over Samoa. But as the Rugby League Ashes resumed after a 22-year absence, England were unable to take the next step against the world champions.

"We take full responsibility. There were enough sessions to perform correctly on the pitch, and it's clear we've managed that," the captain commented.

"Australia deserve praise. They proved strong defensively. But there's loads to improve. We're probably not as strong as we thought we were going into this series.

"This serves as a valuable reality check for us, and we have plenty to improve on."

The Kangaroos 'Turn Up and Prove Merciless'

Having been heavily outplayed in an error-strewn display at the national stadium, Wane side's were markedly enhanced on the weekend back in the rugby league heartlands of England's north.

In an inspiring initial stages, England caused turnovers from the Australians and had dominant territory and ball control, but unfortunately did not capitalize on the points tally.

Tellingly, England have now scored just one try over the series so far, with St Helens hooker Daryl Clark barging over late on in the defeat in London.

Conversely, the Kangaroos have accumulated half a dozen so far - and when blunders began to affect the England's play just after the interval, it was a case of inevitability, they were going to be heavily penalized.

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

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

"The switch off for a brief period after half-time damaged us greatly. The first try was easy and should not be scored in a top-level game.

"The team is heartbroken. So proud the players had a fight but so disappointed with that after half-time, which proved costly heavily."

Although the next World Cup in Oceania is just under a year from now, England's primary concern will be on attempting to salvage honor, preventing a 3-0 sweep and eliminating the issues that frustrated Wane.

"I hoped to see additional intensity 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 bit of detail in our offense where we could have applied under increased strain. We need to stop each of [tries] more effectively.

"Credit to Australia - that is not a criticism to them. They turn up and are clinical when they capitalize, and we weren't, but in defense we can and should do better.

"They will be determined to win all three Tests and we need to be obsessed to make it a respectable scoreline. I've told that to the squad. This must become our main aim. It will be a tough week but whoever wants it the greatest will secure victory next week."

Competitive Edge Needs to Improve in Super League

England have played a similar number of international fixtures to the Kangaroos since the last World Cup in recent years.

Yet the coach believes that the caliber of the NRL - and quality of the State of Origin matches between NSW and QLD - deliver a more effective foundation for competing at the top of the global stage than what is on offer in the Europe.

The England coach added that the hectic Super League fixture schedule left no time for him to work with his squad during the campaign, which will only pose further questions around how England can bridge the gap to Australia before heading to Oceania in the next World Cup.

"They participate in a lot of Test matches in their league," Wane added.

"England play ten to fifteen a year. We need really intense games to improve the competition and boost our chances of succeeding in these high-stakes fixtures.

"I couldn't even practice with the squad. We never got on the field in the campaign and despite having the complete support of all clubs in Super League.

"I have also been in the shoes of the head coaches that must to win games. The competition is that packed. It's unfortunate but it's not the cause we were defeated today."