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In the words of captain George Williams, the national team were given a brutal "sobering lesson" as the Kangaroos 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 the upcoming Headingley encounter a meaningless fixture.

The England team had come into the series harbouring hopes of inflicting the Kangaroos to their maiden Ashes setback since 1970.

In the past two years, they had achieved a dominant victory over Tonga and a 2-0 triumph over the Samoan team. But as the prestigious competition resumed after a long break, the English were failed to make the leap against the reigning title holders.

"We take full responsibility. There were enough training periods to get it right on the pitch, and it's clear we've quite done that," Williams commented.

"Australia deserve praise. They proved excellent in defense. But we've got plenty to address. It seems not as prepared as we expected we were entering this series.

"So it's a good lesson for us, and [there is] loads to enhance."

Australia 'Turn Up and Are Clinical'

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

In an inspiring first half, England caused turnovers from the Australians and had dominant territory and possession, but crucially did not make it count on the points tally.

Tellingly, the English team have now managed just a single touchdown over two full matches, with St Helens hooker Daryl Clark barging over late on in the loss in the capital.

Conversely, the Kangaroos have accumulated six across the series - and when blunders began to affect the hosts' play just after the half-time, it was a case of when, not if, they were going to be made to pay.

Initially the playmaker went over, and then so too did the forward. From being tied at 4-4, the home side were trailing by 10.

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

"The switch off for a brief period after the break hurt us immensely. The first try was soft and should never happen in a international fixture.

"The team is devastated. So proud the players had a fight but very frustrated with that post-interval, which cost us heavily."

Although the upcoming global tournament in Oceania is just under next year, the team's primary concern will be on trying to salvage honor, preventing a clean sweep and eradicating the errors that irritated the coach.

"I wanted to see more directed toward Australia. I wanted us to apply sustained attack 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 attack where we could have put them under more pressure. We need to defend both [tries] better.

"Fair play to the Kangaroos - that is not a criticism to them. They perform and are merciless when they get a chance, and we weren't, but in defense we can and should do improve.

"The Australians will be determined to win all three Tests and we need to be just as focused to make it 2-1. I've said that to the squad. It has to be our obsession. It will be a difficult week but whoever strives for it the most will emerge victorious next week."

Competitive Edge Must to Increase in Domestic Competition

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

Yet Wane thinks that the strength of the Australian league - and level of the domestic rivalry matches between New South Wales and Queensland - provide a much better foundation for performing at the highest level of the international game than what is available in the UK.

The England coach noted that the congested Super League calendar left little opportunity for him to work with his players during the campaign, which will only pose more issues around how England can bridge the gap to Australia before travelling to the Southern Hemisphere in the next World Cup.

"The Australians participate in a large number of Test matches in their league," he added.

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

"I couldn't even practice with the squad. We never got on the field in the campaign and despite having the complete support 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 unfortunate but that's not the reason we lost today."