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As stated by leader the England captain, the national team were delivered a stark "reality check" as Australia clinched the Rugby League Ashes.

The Kangaroos' decisive 14-4 win at the Merseyside venue on the weekend gave them a commanding series edge, making next week's sold-out third Test a dead rubber.

The national squad had come into the series harbouring hopes of sending Australia to their initial series loss since 1970.

Recently, they had achieved a clean sweep over the Tongan side and a success over Samoa. But as the historic rivalry returned after a two-decade hiatus, England were failed to take the next step against the top-ranked team.

"We're not making excuses. There were enough preparations to perform correctly on the field, and it's clear we've managed that," the captain stated.

"Full marks to the Kangaroos. They proved strong defensively. But there's plenty to work on. It seems not as prepared as we believed we were going into this series.

"So it's a good reality check for us, and there is much to improve on."

The Kangaroos 'Turn Up and Are Ruthless'

After being comprehensively defeated in an error-strewn display at the national stadium, England's were markedly enhanced on Saturday back in the core regions of the North.

In an inspiring opening period, England forced mistakes from the Kangaroos and had dominant territory and ball control, but importantly did not convert opportunities on the points tally.

Tellingly, the English team have now scored just a single touchdown over two full matches, with St Helens hooker Daryl Clark powering through late on in the defeat in the capital.

Conversely, the Kangaroos have accumulated six so far - and when mistakes began to creep into the England's play just after the break, 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 level at 4-4, the home side were trailing by 10.

"Satisfied for the majority of the game. I thought for most of the match we were good," said the coach.

"The switch off for a brief period after half-time cost us greatly. The first try was soft and should not be scored in a international fixture.

"The team is devastated. Extremely pleased the players had a fight but so disappointed with that second-half lapse, which proved costly heavily."

While the next World Cup in Oceania is just under 12 months away, the team's immediate focus will be on attempting to regain respect, preventing a clean sweep and eliminating the errors that frustrated Wane.

"I hoped to see greater effort thrown at Australia. My aim was us to build pressure in the game - we fell short last week," added the veteran coach.

"We did this week. The issue is a lack of precision in our offense where we could have applied under greater stress. It's essential to defend both [tries] with greater resolve.

"Fair play to the Kangaroos - that is no slight to them. They perform and are clinical when they get a chance, and we weren't, but in defense we can and should do improve.

"They will be determined to win all three Tests and we need to be equally determined to make it a competitive series. I've told that to the squad. This must become our obsession. It's going to be a challenging week but the side that strives for it the most will emerge victorious next week."

Intensity Must to Improve in Super League

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

Yet Wane thinks that the quality of the NRL - and level of the domestic rivalry matches between New South Wales and Queensland - offer a much better grounding for competing at the top of the global stage than what is on offer in the northern hemisphere.

Wane added that the congested Super League fixture list allowed no time for him to train his squad during the season, which will only pose further questions around how England can narrow the difference to the Kangaroos before travelling to the Southern Hemisphere in 2026.

"They play a large number of internationals in their competition," Wane added.

"We play 10-15 a year. It's crucial demanding games to boost the competition and improve our prospects of succeeding in these types of matches.

"I couldn't even practice with the squad. There was no chance to got on the field in the season and I had the total cooperation of all clubs in Super League.

"I have also been in the boots of the club managers that must to win games. The competition is that packed. It's unfortunate but that's not the reason we lost today."