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In the words of captain the England captain, the national team were delivered a brutal "wake-up call" as Australia won the Rugby League Ashes.

The Kangaroos' 14-4 victory at the Merseyside venue on Saturday gave them a unassailable 2-0 advantage, making the upcoming Headingley encounter a dead rubber.

Shaun Wane's side had entered the series harbouring hopes of inflicting the Kangaroos to their initial series loss since over five decades ago.

In the past two years, they had enjoyed a dominant victory over Tonga and a 2-0 triumph over Samoa. But as the prestigious competition returned after a long break, the English were unable to make the leap against the top-ranked team.

"We're not making excuses. We've had enough sessions to execute properly on the pitch, and it's clear we've managed that," the captain commented.

"Credit to Australia. They were excellent defensively. But there's loads to improve. It seems not as strong as we believed we were entering this series.

"So it's a valuable lesson for us, and there is much to develop."

The Kangaroos 'Turn Up and Prove Ruthless'

After being soundly beaten in an sloppy showing at Wembley, Wane side's were much improved on the weekend back in the rugby league heartlands of the North.

In an inspiring opening period, the home side caused turnovers from the Kangaroos and had all the field position and ball control, but unfortunately did not make it count on the points tally.

Significantly, the English team have now scored just a single touchdown over 160 minutes, with St Helens hooker Daryl Clark powering through late on in the setback in London.

Conversely, the Kangaroos have accumulated half a dozen across the series - and when blunders began to creep into the hosts' play just after the interval, it was a case of certainty, they were going to be made to pay.

Initially the playmaker went over, and then so too did Hudson Young. From being level at 4-4, England were trailing by 10.

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

"The drop in intensity for a brief period after the break damaged us immensely. Munster's try was avoidable and should not be scored in a international fixture.

"The team is deeply disappointed. So proud the players had a go but very frustrated with that after half-time, which cost us heavily."

While the upcoming global tournament in Oceania is just under next year, the team's short-term goal will be on trying to restore some pride, avoiding a clean sweep and eliminating the issues that annoyed Wane.

"I hoped to see additional intensity thrown at the opposition. I wanted us to build pressure in the game - we fell short last week," added the 61-year-old.

"We managed this week. The issue is a bit of detail in our offensive play where we could have applied 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 ruthless when they seize opportunities, and we weren't, but in defense we must do enhance.

"They will be obsessed to win 3-0 and we need to be equally determined to make it 2-1. I've told that to the squad. This must become our main aim. It's going to be a challenging week but whoever desires it the greatest will secure victory next week."

Competitive Edge Must to Increase in Domestic Competition

The English side have played a similar number of international fixtures to Australia since the last World Cup in recent years.

Yet Wane believes that the caliber of the NRL - and quality of the State of Origin matches between New South Wales and Queensland - deliver a superior preparation for performing at the highest level of the international game than what is available in the UK.

Wane noted that the congested Super League fixture list left little opportunity for him to work with his squad during the season, which will only raise additional concerns around how the national team can narrow the difference to Australia before heading to the Southern Hemisphere in the next World Cup.

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

"We play ten to fifteen a year. It's crucial demanding games to enhance the competition and boost our prospects of winning these types of matches.

"It was impossible to even practice with the squad. We never trained together in the season and I had the full backing of all clubs in the domestic competition.

"I understand in the shoes of the head coaches that need to win games. The competition is that packed. It's unfortunate but it's not the reason we got beaten today."