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As stated by leader the England captain, the national team were given a brutal "sobering lesson" as Australia won the coveted Ashes trophy.

Australia's 14-4 victory at the Merseyside venue on Saturday gave them a commanding series edge, making next week's sold-out third Test a academic contest.

The England team had entered the series holding aspirations of inflicting Australia to their maiden Ashes setback since over five decades ago.

In the past two years, they had enjoyed a dominant victory over Tonga and a 2-0 triumph over Samoa. But as the Rugby League Ashes resumed after a long break, England were failed to take the next step against the reigning title holders.

"We're not making excuses. There were enough sessions to execute properly on the field, and it's clear we've quite done that," Williams commented.

"Australia deserve praise. They were good defensively. But we've got plenty to improve. It seems not as prepared as we expected we were entering this series.

"So it's a necessary wake-up call for us, and there is much to enhance."

The Kangaroos 'Arrive and Prove Clinical'

After being comprehensively defeated in an error-strewn display at Wembley, England's were markedly enhanced on the weekend back in the traditional strongholds of England's north.

In an inspiring initial stages, the home side caused turnovers from the Australians and had all the field position and possession, but importantly did not capitalize on the scoreboard.

Significantly, the English team have now managed just a single touchdown over two full matches, with St Helens hooker the forward barging over late on in the setback in the capital.

On the other hand, Australia have racked up half a dozen across the series - and when errors began to creep into the hosts' play just after the break, it was a case of certainty, they were going to be heavily penalized.

First Cameron Munster went over, and then so too did the forward. From being level at 4-4, England were trailing by 10.

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

"The drop in intensity for a brief period after the break damaged us immensely. Munster's try was soft and should never happen in a top-level game.

"We're devastated. Extremely pleased the players had a go but very frustrated with that second-half lapse, which hurt us heavily."

While the next World Cup in Australia and Papua New Guinea is just under a year from now, the team's primary concern will be on attempting to restore some pride, avoiding a 3-0 sweep and eliminating the issues that irritated Wane.

"I hoped to see greater effort directed toward Australia. I wanted us to build pressure in the game - we didn't do that last week," added the 61-year-old.

"We managed this week. It's just a lack of precision in our offense where we could have put them under increased strain. We need to defend both [tries] better.

"Fair play to the Kangaroos - that is no slight to them. They perform and are clinical when they seize opportunities, and we weren't, but defensively we can and should do improve.

"The Australians will be determined to win the series whitewash and we need to be just as focused to make it 2-1. I've said that to the players. It has to be our main aim. It's going to be a challenging week but whoever desires it the most will emerge victorious next week."

Intensity Must to Increase in Domestic Competition

England have participated in a similar number of Test matches to the Kangaroos since the last World Cup in recent years.

Yet the coach believes that the quality of the NRL - and quality of the State of Origin matches between NSW and QLD - provide a much better foundation for competing at the top of the international game than what is on offer in the UK.

Wane noted that the congested Super League fixture schedule left little opportunity for him to train his squad during the season, which will only raise additional concerns around how England can close the divide to the Kangaroos before travelling to Oceania in the next World Cup.

"They participate in a lot of internationals in their league," he remarked.

"We play ten to fifteen a year. We need demanding games to enhance the competition and boost our prospects of succeeding in these sorts of games.

"It was impossible to even practice with the players. There was no chance to got on the field in the season and despite having the full backing of everyone in the domestic competition.

"I understand in the position of the head coaches that must to win games. The league is that tight. It's a pity but it's not the cause we lost today."