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In the words of leader George Williams, England were handed a brutal "wake-up call" as Australia secured the Rugby League Ashes.

Australia's 14-4 triumph at Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium on the weekend gave them a commanding series edge, making the upcoming Headingley encounter a dead rubber.

The national squad had come into the series harbouring hopes of sending the Kangaroos to their initial series loss since the 1970s.

In the past two years, they had enjoyed a dominant victory over Tonga and a series win over Samoa. But as the Rugby League Ashes resumed after a 22-year absence, England were unable to make the leap against the top-ranked team.

"We take full responsibility. There were enough training periods to get it right on the field, and I don't think we've managed that," Williams commented.

"Credit to Australia. They were strong defensively. But we've got plenty to work on. It seems not as good as we expected we were going into this series.

"So it's a good reality check for us, and [there is] loads to improve on."

Australia 'Show Up and Are Merciless'

Having been comprehensively defeated in an error-strewn display at the national stadium, Wane side's were significantly better on Saturday back in the rugby league heartlands of the North.

During an energetic initial stages, England elicited errors from the Kangaroos and had all the field position and ball control, but unfortunately did not make it count on the points tally.

Tellingly, the English team have now managed just one score over two full matches, with player the forward scoring late on in the loss in the capital.

On the other hand, Australia have scored six in two games - and when errors began to creep into the hosts' play just after the interval, it was a case of when, not if, they were going to be heavily penalized.

Initially Cameron Munster scored, and then so too did the forward. From being level at 4-4, the home side were down by double digits.

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

"The drop in intensity for a brief period after the break damaged us immensely. Munster's try was soft and should never happen in a top-level game.

"The team is deeply disappointed. Extremely pleased the players had a fight but very frustrated with that after half-time, which hurt us dearly."

While the next World Cup in Australia and Papua New Guinea is just under a year from now, England's primary concern will be on trying to restore some pride, avoiding a clean sweep and addressing the issues that irritated the coach.

"I wanted to see additional intensity directed toward 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 minor refinements in our attack where we could have applied under greater stress. We need to stop each of [tries] with greater resolve.

"Fair play to the Kangaroos - that is not a criticism to them. They arrive and are ruthless when they get a chance, and we weren't, but defensively we must do improve.

"The Australians will be determined to win 3-0 and we need to be obsessed to make it a respectable scoreline. I've said that to the players. This must become our main aim. It's going to be a tough week but whoever desires it the greatest will emerge victorious next week."

Intensity Must to Increase in Super League

England have played a similar number of Test matches to Australia since the previous global tournament in 2022.

Yet the coach believes that the caliber of the Australian league - and quality of the domestic rivalry matches between New South Wales and QLD - offer a much better preparation for performing at the highest level of the international game than what is available in the Europe.

Wane added that the packed domestic league fixture list left no time for him to train his squad during the season, which will only pose additional concerns around how England can narrow the difference to the Kangaroos before travelling to Oceania in 2026.

"They play a lot of internationals in their league," he remarked.

"We have ten to fifteen a year. We need really intense games to boost the competition and boost our chances of winning these high-stakes fixtures.

"It was impossible to even practice with the players. There was no chance to trained together in the season and despite having the total cooperation of everyone in the domestic competition.

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