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As stated by skipper George Williams, the national team were handed a brutal "sobering lesson" as the Kangaroos secured the coveted Ashes trophy.

The Kangaroos' decisive 14-4 win at Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday gave them a unassailable 2-0 advantage, making the upcoming Headingley encounter a academic contest.

The England team had come into the series harbouring hopes of inflicting the Kangaroos to their first Ashes series defeat since the 1970s.

Over the last 24 months, they had achieved a 3-0 series win over Tonga and a success over Samoa. But as the historic rivalry returned after a two-decade hiatus, England were unable to make the leap against the top-ranked team.

"We're not making excuses. We've had enough training periods to get it right on the field, and I don't think we've managed that," Williams told.

"Australia deserve praise. They proved strong in defense. But we've got a lot to improve. It seems not as strong as we believed we were going into this series.

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

The Kangaroos 'Turn Up and Are Merciless'

After being comprehensively defeated in an mistake-ridden performance at Wembley, Wane side's were significantly better on the weekend back in the rugby league heartlands of England's north.

During an energetic opening period, England elicited errors from the Australians 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 one try over two full matches, with player Daryl Clark barging over late on in the defeat in the capital.

Conversely, the Kangaroos have scored half a dozen in two games - and when blunders began to creep into the hosts' play just after the break, it was a case of inevitability, they were going to be heavily penalized.

Initially Cameron Munster crossed, and then so too did the forward. From being tied at four-all, England were trailing by 10.

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

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

"The team is devastated. So proud the squad had a dig but so disappointed with that second-half lapse, which proved costly heavily."

Although the upcoming global tournament in the Southern Hemisphere is just under next year, the team's primary concern will be on trying to restore some pride, preventing a clean sweep and eradicating the mistakes that annoyed the coach.

"I wanted to see more thrown at Australia. My aim was us to build pressure in the game - we failed to deliver last week," added the veteran coach.

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

"Credit to the Kangaroos - that is no slight 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 better.

"The Australians will be focused to win all three Tests and we need to be obsessed to make it a respectable scoreline. I've told that to the squad. This must become our obsession. It will be a tough week but the side that strives for it the greatest will secure victory next week."

Competitive Edge Must to Improve in Domestic Competition

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

Yet Wane thinks that the quality of the NRL - and standard of the domestic rivalry matches between NSW and QLD - provide a more effective grounding for performing at the highest level of the international game than what is available in the northern hemisphere.

Wane noted that the congested Super League calendar left little opportunity for him to coach his squad during the season, which will only raise additional concerns around how England can close the divide to the Kangaroos before heading to the Southern Hemisphere in the next World Cup.

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

"We play ten to fifteen a year. We need demanding games to improve the competition and improve our chances of winning these types of matches.

"I couldn't even train with the squad. There was no chance to trained together in the season and I had the complete support of all clubs 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 it's not the reason we got beaten today."