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In the words of captain the England captain, the national team were handed a harsh "wake-up call" as the Kangaroos clinched the coveted Ashes trophy.

The Kangaroos' decisive 14-4 win at Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday gave them a 2-0 series lead, making the upcoming Headingley encounter a dead rubber.

The national squad had entered the series harbouring hopes of sending the Kangaroos to their initial series loss since over five decades ago.

Recently, they had achieved a clean sweep over Tonga and a success over Samoa. But as the Rugby League Ashes returned after a long break, the English were unable to advance further against the reigning title holders.

"No excuses from us. We've had enough training periods to perform correctly on the pitch, and it's clear we've quite done that," Williams commented.

"Credit to Australia. They were strong defensively. But there's a lot to improve. We're probably not as good as we expected we were going into this series.

"This serves as a valuable reality check for us, and [there is] loads to enhance."

Australia 'Arrive and Prove Clinical'

After being heavily outplayed in an mistake-ridden performance at the national stadium, Wane side's were markedly enhanced on the weekend back in the traditional strongholds of northern England.

During an energetic initial stages, England elicited errors from the Australians and had superior positioning and possession, but unfortunately did not make it count on the scoreboard.

Tellingly, England have now scored just one score over two full matches, with player Daryl Clark powering through late on in the loss in London.

Conversely, the Kangaroos have scored six across the series - and when blunders began to affect the hosts' play just after the half-time, it was a case of certainty, they were going to be made to pay.

First Cameron Munster scored, and then so too did Hudson Young. From being tied at 4-4, England were down by double digits.

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

"The drop in intensity for 10 minutes after the break cost us severely. The first try was easy and should not be scored in a international fixture.

"We're deeply disappointed. Extremely pleased the squad had a go but very frustrated with that after half-time, which proved costly heavily."

Although the next World Cup in Australia and Papua New Guinea is just under a year from now, the team's primary concern will be on trying to restore some pride, avoiding a 3-0 sweep and eliminating the mistakes that irritated Wane.

"I wanted to see additional intensity thrown at the opposition. My aim was us to maintain momentum in the game - we fell short last week," added the veteran coach.

"We managed this week. It's just a minor refinements in our offensive play where we could have applied under increased strain. We need to stop each of [tries] better.

"Fair play to the Kangaroos - that is not a criticism to them. They perform and are ruthless when they get a chance, and we failed to be, but in defense we can and should do enhance.

"They will be focused to win the series whitewash and we need to be equally determined to make it a respectable scoreline. I've told that to the players. It has to be our main aim. It's going to be a tough week but whoever strives for it the greatest will get the win next week."

Competitive Edge Must to Improve in Super League

England have played a comparable number of Test matches to the Kangaroos since the previous global tournament in recent years.

Yet Wane thinks that the caliber of the Australian league - and quality of the domestic rivalry matches between NSW and Queensland - provide a more effective grounding for performing at the top of the international game than what is available in the Europe.

Wane noted that the hectic Super League calendar left little opportunity for him to train his squad during the season, which will only pose additional concerns around how the national team can narrow the difference to the Kangaroos before heading to Oceania in the next World Cup.

"The Australians play a lot of internationals in their league," Wane remarked.

"We play 10-15 a year. It's crucial demanding games to improve the domestic league and increase our chances of succeeding in these high-stakes fixtures.

"It was impossible to even train with the players. We never trained together in the campaign and I had the total cooperation of everyone in Super League.

"I have also been in the position of the club managers that need to win games. The league is that tight. It's unfortunate but that's not the reason we got beaten today."