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In the words of captain the England captain, the national team were given a harsh "sobering lesson" as the Kangaroos clinched the coveted Ashes trophy.

Australia's decisive 14-4 win at Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday gave them a unassailable 2-0 advantage, making the upcoming sold-out third Test a meaningless fixture.

The national squad had come into the series dreaming of inflicting the Kangaroos to their maiden Ashes setback since 1970.

Recently, they had achieved a dominant victory over Tonga and a 2-0 triumph over Samoa. But as the prestigious competition resumed after a 22-year absence, England were unable to advance further against the top-ranked team.

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

"Full marks to the Kangaroos. They were excellent defensively. But we've got loads to work on. It seems not as prepared as we thought we were going into this series.

"This serves as a good lesson for us, and there is much to develop."

Australia 'Show Up and Prove Merciless'

Having been comprehensively defeated in an sloppy showing at Wembley, England's were much improved on the weekend back in the core regions of England's north.

During an energetic opening period, the home side elicited errors from the Kangaroos and had superior positioning and ball control, but crucially did not capitalize on the scoreboard.

Notably, England have now managed just a single touchdown over two full matches, with St Helens hooker the forward powering through late on in the setback in London.

On the other hand, the Kangaroos have accumulated half a dozen so far - and when errors began to affect the England's play just after the half-time, it was a case of inevitability, they were going to be severely punished.

Initially Cameron Munster scored, and then so too did the forward. From being tied at 4-4, the home side were trailing by 10.

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

"The switch off for a brief period after half-time damaged us severely. Munster's try was soft and should never happen in a Test match.

"We're devastated. So proud the squad had a go but so disappointed with that after half-time, which cost us heavily."

Although the upcoming global tournament in the Southern Hemisphere is just under a year from now, 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 more directed toward the opposition. My aim was us to maintain momentum in the game - we didn't do that last week," added the veteran coach.

"We did this week. The issue is a bit of detail in our offensive play where we could have put them under increased strain. We need to stop each of [tries] with greater resolve.

"Credit to Australia - that is no slight to them. They perform and are ruthless when they get a chance, and we weren't, but in defense we can and should do enhance.

"They will be determined to win the series whitewash and we need to be just as focused to make it a competitive series. I've said that to the players. This must become our primary goal. It will be a difficult week but the side that wants it the greatest will emerge victorious next week."

Competitive Edge Must to Increase in Domestic Competition

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

However the coach believes that the caliber of the NRL - and level of the domestic rivalry matches between New South Wales and Queensland - deliver a superior foundation for performing at the highest level of the global stage than what is on offer in the northern hemisphere.

Wane noted that the hectic Super League calendar allowed no time for him to coach his players during the campaign, which will only pose further questions around how the national team can close the divide to Australia before heading to the Southern Hemisphere in the next World Cup.

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

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

"I couldn't even train with the players. There was no chance to trained together in the campaign and I had the complete support of all clubs in Super League.

"I understand in the shoes of the club managers that need to win games. The league is that packed. It's unfortunate but that's not the reason we were defeated today."