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As stated by skipper the England captain, England were handed a stark "wake-up call" as Australia clinched the coveted Ashes trophy.

Australia's 14-4 triumph at the stadium in Liverpool on Saturday gave them a unassailable 2-0 advantage, making next week's sold-out third Test a meaningless fixture.

The national squad had come into the series dreaming of sending Australia to their first Ashes series defeat since over five decades ago.

Recently, they had achieved a 3-0 series win over the Tongan side and a 2-0 triumph over the Samoan team. But as the prestigious competition returned after a long break, the English were failed to make the leap against the world champions.

"We're not making excuses. There were enough preparations to get it right on the pitch, and it's clear we've achieved that," Williams commented.

"Full marks to the Kangaroos. They proved good in defense. But we've got a lot to improve. We're probably not as strong as we expected we were entering this series.

"So it's a valuable wake-up call for us, and [there is] loads to enhance."

The Kangaroos 'Show Up and Are Clinical'

After being heavily outplayed in an error-strewn display at the national stadium, Wane side's were markedly enhanced on Saturday back in the core regions of northern England.

During an energetic opening period, England elicited errors from the Australians and had superior positioning and ball control, but unfortunately did not convert opportunities on the scoreboard.

Tellingly, the English team have now managed just a single touchdown over the series so far, with St Helens hooker the forward barging over late on in the loss in the capital.

On the other hand, Australia have racked up half a dozen across the series - and when errors began to appear in the England's play just after the interval, it was a case of inevitability, they were going to be heavily penalized.

First the playmaker scored, and then so too did the forward. From being tied at 4-4, England were trailing by 10.

"Satisfied for the bulk of the game. I thought for 70 minutes we were competitive," said the coach.

"The switch off for a brief period after the break cost us severely. Munster's try was soft and should never happen in a top-level game.

"We're deeply disappointed. Extremely pleased the squad had a go but so disappointed with that post-interval, which proved costly dearly."

While the upcoming global tournament in Oceania is just under next year, England's immediate focus will be on trying to restore some pride, preventing a 3-0 sweep and eliminating the errors that frustrated the coach.

"I wanted to see more directed toward Australia. I wanted us to build pressure in the game - we didn't do that last week," added the 61-year-old.

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

"Credit to Australia - that is no slight to them. They arrive and are clinical when they capitalize, and we weren't, but defensively we can and should do better.

"They will be obsessed to win 3-0 and we need to be equally determined to make it a competitive series. I've told that to the players. This must become our main aim. It will be a difficult week but whoever wants it the most will secure victory next week."

Competitive Edge Must to Increase in Super League

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

However Wane argues that the strength of the Australian league - and quality of the domestic rivalry matches between New South Wales and QLD - deliver a superior foundation for performing at the highest level of the global stage than what is on offer in the northern hemisphere.

Wane added that the hectic domestic league fixture list allowed no time for him to train his team during the campaign, which will only raise more issues around how England can narrow the difference to the Kangaroos before travelling to the Southern Hemisphere in the next World Cup.

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

"We have ten to fifteen a year. We need highly competitive games to boost the competition and improve our prospects of succeeding in these high-stakes fixtures.

"It was impossible to even train with the squad. There was no chance to trained together in the season and I had the full backing of everyone in the domestic competition.

"I have also been in the position of the club managers that must to win games. The league is that packed. It's a pity but it's not the cause we got beaten today."