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In the words of leader the England captain, England were handed a brutal "reality check" as the Kangaroos won the coveted Ashes trophy.

Australia's decisive 14-4 win at the Merseyside venue on the weekend gave them a commanding series edge, making the upcoming final match in Leeds a academic contest.

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

Over the last 24 months, they had enjoyed a clean sweep over Tonga and a 2-0 triumph over the Samoan team. But as the historic rivalry returned after a long break, the English were failed to take the next step against the top-ranked team.

"No excuses from us. There were enough preparations to perform correctly on the pitch, and I don't think we've quite done that," the captain stated.

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

"So it's a valuable reality check for us, and there is much to improve on."

Australia 'Arrive and Are Merciless'

Having been soundly beaten in an error-strewn display at the national stadium, England's were significantly better on Saturday back in the rugby league heartlands of the North.

In a rousing opening period, England elicited errors from the Australians and had dominant territory and ball control, but unfortunately did not convert opportunities on the scoreboard.

Tellingly, the English team have now scored just one try over the series so far, with St Helens hooker the forward scoring late on in the defeat in London.

Conversely, Australia have racked up six across the series - and when errors began to creep into the England's play just after the half-time, it was a case of inevitability, 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, the home side were 10 points adrift.

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

"The switch off for 10 minutes after half-time cost us severely. The first try was avoidable and should not be scored in a Test match.

"We're heartbroken. Extremely pleased the players had a dig but very frustrated with that second-half lapse, which hurt us dearly."

While the next World Cup in Australia and Papua New Guinea is just under next year, England's immediate focus will be on trying to salvage honor, avoiding a 3-0 sweep and addressing the issues that irritated the coach.

"I wanted to see additional intensity thrown at the opposition. My aim was us to apply sustained attack in the game - we failed to deliver last week," added the veteran coach.

"We managed this week. The issue is a lack of precision in our offensive play where we could have put them under increased strain. It's essential to stop each of [tries] better.

"Fair play to the Kangaroos - that is no detriment to them. They turn up and are merciless when they capitalize, and we failed to be, but in defense we can and should do better.

"The Australians will be determined to win all three Tests and we need to be equally determined to make it a competitive series. I've said that to the players. It has to be our main aim. It's going to be a difficult week but the side that wants it the greatest will secure victory next week."

Competitive Edge Needs to Improve in Domestic Competition

The English side have played a comparable number of Test matches to the Kangaroos since the previous global tournament in 2022.

However Wane believes that the quality of the Australian league - and quality of the State of Origin matches between NSW and Queensland - deliver a superior foundation for performing at the top of the international game than what is available in the Europe.

Wane added that the congested Super League fixture schedule left no time for him to train his team during the campaign, which will only pose further questions around how England can close the divide to the Kangaroos before travelling to Oceania in the next World Cup.

"The Australians participate in a lot of internationals in their league," he added.

"We play 10-15 a year. We need highly competitive games to boost the competition and improve our chances of succeeding in these sorts of games.

"I couldn't even practice with the players. We never got on the field in the season and despite having the total cooperation of all clubs in the domestic competition.

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