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As stated by captain the England captain, the national team were handed a brutal "sobering lesson" as Australia clinched the prestigious series.

The Kangaroos' 14-4 triumph at the Merseyside venue on the weekend gave them a unassailable 2-0 advantage, making the upcoming final match in Leeds a dead rubber.

The national squad had come into the series holding aspirations of inflicting Australia to their maiden Ashes setback since the 1970s.

Over the last 24 months, they had secured a dominant victory over Tonga and a success over Samoa. But as the Rugby League Ashes resumed after a two-decade hiatus, the English were unable to make the leap against the top-ranked team.

"We're not making excuses. There were enough sessions to get it right on the pitch, and it's clear we've achieved that," Williams told.

"Credit to Australia. They proved strong defensively. But there's a lot to work on. It seems not as strong as we thought we were entering this series.

"So it's a necessary lesson for us, and there is much to enhance."

Australia 'Show Up and Prove Ruthless'

Having been heavily outplayed in an mistake-ridden performance at the national stadium, England's were much improved on Saturday back in the core regions of the North.

In an inspiring first half, the home side elicited errors from the Kangaroos and had superior positioning and possession, but crucially did not convert opportunities on the points tally.

Notably, England have now managed just one score over 160 minutes, with player the forward barging over late on in the defeat in the capital.

In contrast, the Kangaroos have racked up half a dozen so far - and when errors began to creep into the hosts' play just after the half-time, it was a case of when, not if, they were going to be made to pay.

First Cameron Munster went over, and then so too did Hudson Young. From being tied at 4-4, the home side were 10 points adrift.

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

"The switch off for 10 minutes after half-time cost us greatly. Munster's try was soft and should never happen in a Test match.

"We're devastated. Extremely pleased the squad had a dig but so disappointed with that post-interval, which cost us heavily."

While the upcoming global tournament in Oceania is just under 12 months away, England's immediate focus will be on trying to restore some pride, avoiding a clean sweep and eliminating the mistakes that frustrated the coach.

"I hoped to see greater effort thrown at the opposition. My aim was us to apply sustained attack in the game - we failed to deliver last week," added the 61-year-old.

"We did this week. It's just a lack of precision in our attack where we could have put them under more pressure. It's essential to stop each of [tries] with greater resolve.

"Credit to Australia - that is no slight to them. They perform and are merciless when they seize opportunities, and we failed to be, but defensively we must do improve.

"They will be focused to win the series whitewash and we need to be obsessed to make it 2-1. I've told that to the squad. It has to be our obsession. It will be a tough week but the side that strives for it the greatest will secure victory next week."

Intensity Must to Elevate in Super League

The English side have played a similar number of Test matches to Australia since the last World Cup in recent years.

Yet Wane argues that the strength of the Australian league - and standard of the State of Origin matches between NSW and Queensland - provide a more effective preparation for performing at the highest level of the global stage than what is available in the northern hemisphere.

The England coach added that the hectic Super League fixture list allowed no time for him to coach his team during the season, which will only raise further questions around how England can narrow the difference to Australia before heading to the Southern Hemisphere in 2026.

"The Australians participate in a lot of internationals in their competition," Wane added.

"England play ten to fifteen a year. It's crucial highly competitive games to enhance the competition and increase our prospects of succeeding in these sorts of games.

"I couldn't even practice with the squad. There was no chance to trained together in the campaign and despite having the total cooperation of all clubs in Super League.

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