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In the words of leader the England captain, the national team were given a harsh "reality check" as Australia won the coveted Ashes trophy.

The Kangaroos' 14-4 triumph at the stadium in Liverpool on Saturday gave them a 2-0 series lead, making next week's final match in Leeds a meaningless fixture.

The England team had entered the series dreaming of sending the Kangaroos to their first Ashes series defeat since 1970.

Over the last 24 months, they had secured a 3-0 series win over Tonga and a series win over the Samoan team. But as the prestigious competition returned after a two-decade hiatus, England were unable to take the next step against the world champions.

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

"Credit to Australia. They were good defensively. But we've got loads to work on. We're probably not as strong as we expected we were going into this series.

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

Australia 'Show Up and Prove Clinical'

Having been comprehensively defeated in an sloppy showing at Wembley, England's were significantly better on Saturday back in the core regions of northern England.

During an energetic opening period, the home side elicited errors from the Kangaroos and had dominant territory and ball control, but unfortunately did not capitalize on the points tally.

Notably, England have now managed just one try over the series so far, with player the forward powering through late on in the defeat in the capital.

Conversely, Australia have racked up six across the series - and when blunders began to appear in the England's play just after the half-time, it was a case of inevitability, they were going to be made to pay.

Initially the playmaker crossed, and then so too did the forward. From being tied at four-all, the home side were trailing by 10.

"Satisfied for the bulk of the game. I thought for 70 minutes we were solid," said Wane.

"The lapse for 10 minutes after the break damaged us immensely. Munster's try was easy and should not be scored in a international fixture.

"We're heartbroken. So proud the squad had a go but so disappointed with that after half-time, which proved costly dearly."

While the next World Cup in Oceania is just under 12 months away, the team's immediate focus will be on attempting to restore some pride, avoiding a series whitewash and eradicating the mistakes that frustrated Wane.

"I wanted to see additional intensity directed toward Australia. I wanted us to apply sustained attack in the game - we fell short last week," added the veteran coach.

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

"Fair play to the Kangaroos - that is no detriment to them. They turn up and are clinical when they get a chance, and we failed to be, but in defense we can and should do enhance.

"The Australians will be focused to win 3-0 and we need to be equally determined to make it a competitive series. I've said that to the squad. This must become our obsession. It will be a challenging week but whoever strives for it the most will emerge victorious next week."

Intensity Needs to Increase in Domestic Competition

The English side have played a comparable number of international fixtures to Australia since the last World Cup in 2022.

However the coach argues that the quality of the Australian league - and level of the State of Origin matches between NSW and QLD - deliver a superior grounding for performing at the top of the international game than what is available in the UK.

The England coach added that the congested domestic league fixture list left little opportunity for him to coach his team during the season, which will only pose more issues around how the national team can close the divide to the Kangaroos before travelling to the Southern Hemisphere in 2026.

"They participate in a large number of internationals in their competition," he added.

"We have 10-15 a year. It's crucial demanding games to enhance the domestic league and increase our chances of succeeding in these types of matches.

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

"I understand in the position of the club managers that must to win games. The competition is that congested. It's unfortunate but that's not the reason we were defeated today."