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According to skipper the England captain, the national team were delivered a brutal "sobering lesson" as the Kangaroos clinched the Rugby League Ashes.

Australia's 14-4 victory at the Merseyside venue on Saturday gave them a unassailable 2-0 advantage, making next week's final match in Leeds a dead rubber.

The England team had entered the series harbouring hopes of sending the Kangaroos to their maiden Ashes setback since the 1970s.

Recently, they had achieved a clean sweep over the Tongan side and a 2-0 triumph over Samoa. But as the Rugby League Ashes returned after a two-decade hiatus, the English were unable to advance further against the top-ranked team.

"No excuses from us. There were enough training periods to perform correctly on the field, and I don't think we've achieved that," the captain stated.

"Australia deserve praise. They proved good defensively. But we've got a lot to improve. It seems not as prepared as we thought we were entering this series.

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

The Kangaroos 'Turn Up and Are Ruthless'

After being comprehensively defeated in an mistake-ridden performance at the national stadium, Wane side's were markedly enhanced on the weekend back in the core regions of northern England.

In a rousing opening period, England forced mistakes from the Australians and had superior positioning and ball control, but importantly did not convert opportunities on the scoreboard.

Significantly, the English team have now managed just a single touchdown over the series so far, with St Helens hooker Daryl Clark barging over late on in the defeat in the capital.

In contrast, the Kangaroos have scored half a dozen in two games - and when errors began to appear in the England's play just after the interval, 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 Hudson Young. From being tied at four-all, England were trailing by 10.

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

"The lapse for a brief period after the break hurt us immensely. The first try was easy and should not be scored in a Test match.

"We're heartbroken. So proud the squad had a dig but very frustrated with that after half-time, which proved costly significantly."

While the next World Cup in Oceania is just under 12 months away, the team's primary concern will be on attempting to regain respect, preventing a 3-0 sweep and eradicating the mistakes that annoyed Wane.

"I wanted to see additional intensity thrown at Australia. My aim was us to apply sustained attack in the game - we didn't do that last week," added the veteran coach.

"We managed this week. It's just a lack of precision in our offense where we could have put them under more pressure. It's essential to stop each of [tries] better.

"Fair play to the Kangaroos - that is no slight to them. They arrive and are merciless when they seize opportunities, and we failed to be, but in defense we can and should do enhance.

"They will be focused to win all three Tests and we need to be obsessed to make it 2-1. I've told that to the squad. It has to be our main aim. It will be a difficult week but whoever wants it the most will emerge victorious next week."

Intensity Must to Increase in Domestic Competition

England have participated in a similar number of Test matches to Australia since the last World Cup in recent years.

However Wane argues that the quality of the Australian league - and quality of the domestic rivalry matches between NSW and QLD - deliver a superior grounding for competing at the highest level of the global stage than what is available in the northern hemisphere.

The England coach noted that the hectic Super League fixture list left little opportunity for him to coach his players during the season, which will only raise additional concerns around how England can narrow the difference to the Kangaroos before travelling to the Southern Hemisphere in the next World Cup.

"They participate in a large number of internationals in their league," he remarked.

"England have ten to fifteen a year. It's crucial really intense games to boost the domestic league and boost our prospects of winning these high-stakes fixtures.

"I couldn't even practice with the squad. We never trained together in the campaign and I had the complete support of everyone in Super League.

"I understand in the shoes of the club managers that must to win games. The competition is that tight. It's a pity but it's not the reason we were defeated today."