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In the words of skipper George Williams, the national team were handed a brutal "reality check" as Australia secured the Rugby League Ashes.

The Kangaroos' 14-4 triumph at the Merseyside venue on the weekend gave them a unassailable 2-0 advantage, making the upcoming Headingley encounter a academic contest.

Shaun Wane's side had entered the series holding aspirations of sending the Kangaroos to their maiden Ashes setback since over five decades ago.

Over the last 24 months, they had achieved a 3-0 series win over the Tongan side and a 2-0 triumph over Samoa. But as the historic rivalry resumed after a long break, the English were failed to advance further against the reigning title holders.

"We're not making excuses. We've had enough training periods to execute properly on the pitch, and I don't think we've achieved that," the captain told.

"Full marks to the Kangaroos. They were good defensively. But we've got plenty to work on. We're probably not as good as we believed we were entering this series.

"This serves as a valuable reality check for us, and there is much to develop."

The Kangaroos 'Arrive and Prove Clinical'

Having been heavily outplayed in an sloppy showing at the national stadium, Wane side's were much improved on the weekend back in the rugby league heartlands of northern England.

In an inspiring opening period, the home side elicited errors from the Kangaroos and had all the field position and possession, but crucially did not capitalize on the scoreboard.

Tellingly, the English team have now managed just one try over the series so far, with player Daryl Clark scoring late on in the setback in the capital.

On the other hand, Australia have racked up half a dozen in two games - and when errors began to creep into the England's play just after the half-time, it was a case of when, not if, they were going to be severely punished.

Initially the playmaker scored, and then so too did the forward. From being tied at 4-4, the home side were down by double digits.

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

"The lapse for a brief period after half-time cost us greatly. The first try was easy and should never happen in a Test match.

"The team is deeply disappointed. So proud the players had a fight but very frustrated with that after half-time, which cost us heavily."

While the next World Cup in Australia and Papua New Guinea is just under 12 months away, England's short-term goal will be on trying to restore some pride, preventing a series whitewash and addressing the issues that irritated Wane.

"I hoped to see more thrown at Australia. I wanted us to build pressure in the game - we fell short last week," added the 61-year-old.

"We managed this week. It's just a minor refinements in our offense where we could have put them under increased strain. We need to stop each of [tries] more effectively.

"Credit to the Kangaroos - that is no detriment to them. They turn up and are clinical when they capitalize, and we failed to be, but defensively we can and should do enhance.

"The Australians will be focused to win the series whitewash and we need to be obsessed to make it a competitive series. I've said that to the players. It has to be our primary goal. It will be a tough week but the side that desires it the most will emerge victorious next week."

Intensity Must to Improve in Super League

England have played a comparable number of Test matches to Australia since the previous global tournament in recent years.

Yet the coach thinks that the strength of the Australian league - and level of the State of Origin matches between NSW and QLD - provide a more effective grounding for performing at the top of the global stage than what is on offer in the northern hemisphere.

The England coach added that the hectic domestic league fixture schedule left no time for him to coach his players during the campaign, which will only pose more issues around how the national team can bridge the gap to Australia before heading to Oceania in 2026.

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

"We play ten to fifteen a year. It's crucial highly competitive games to enhance the competition and improve our prospects of succeeding in these types of matches.

"It was impossible to even train with the players. We never trained together in the season and despite having the total cooperation of everyone in Super League.

"I understand in the boots of the head coaches that need to win games. The league is that congested. It's a pity but that's not the cause we got beaten today."