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As stated by captain the England captain, England were given a brutal "wake-up call" as the Kangaroos secured the coveted Ashes trophy.

Australia's decisive 14-4 win at Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday gave them a 2-0 series lead, making next week's sold-out third Test a academic contest.

Shaun Wane's side had come into the series harbouring hopes of sending Australia to their maiden Ashes setback since over five decades ago.

Recently, they had enjoyed a 3-0 series win over the Tongan side and a series win over the Samoan team. But as the prestigious competition resumed after a long break, England were failed to advance further against the reigning title holders.

"We take full responsibility. We've had enough sessions to get it right on the field, and I don't think we've achieved that," Williams stated.

"Credit to Australia. They were strong in defense. But there's a lot to address. It seems not as strong as we thought we were going into this series.

"This serves as a good lesson for us, and [there is] loads to improve on."

The Kangaroos 'Arrive and Prove Merciless'

After being soundly beaten in an sloppy showing at Wembley, England's were markedly enhanced on Saturday back in the core regions of northern England.

In an inspiring first half, England elicited errors from the Kangaroos and had superior positioning and ball control, but crucially did not make it count on the scoreboard.

Significantly, the English team have now scored just one try over 160 minutes, with St Helens hooker the forward powering through late on in the setback in London.

In contrast, the Kangaroos have racked up six in two games - and when mistakes began to appear in the England's play just after the interval, it was a case of inevitability, they were going to be severely punished.

First Cameron Munster scored, and then so too did the forward. From being level at four-all, England were 10 points adrift.

"Satisfied for the bulk of the game. I thought for most of the match we were solid," said the coach.

"The drop in intensity for 10 minutes after the break cost us severely. The first try was avoidable and should not be scored in a top-level game.

"We're devastated. Extremely pleased the players had a fight but so disappointed with that second-half lapse, which hurt us heavily."

While the upcoming global tournament in Australia and Papua New Guinea is just under a year from now, England's short-term goal will be on attempting to regain respect, preventing a series whitewash and eliminating the issues that annoyed Wane.

"I wanted to see additional intensity directed toward the opposition. I wanted us to build pressure in the game - we failed to deliver last week," added the veteran coach.

"We did this week. It's just a lack of precision in our attack where we could have applied under increased strain. We need to defend both [tries] with greater resolve.

"Fair play to Australia - that is not a criticism to them. They turn up and are ruthless when they seize opportunities, and we failed to be, but in defense we must do enhance.

"The Australians will be focused to win the series whitewash and we need to be equally determined to make it a respectable scoreline. I've told that to the squad. It has to be our primary goal. It will be a difficult week but whoever strives for it the most will get the win next week."

Intensity Must to Elevate in Super League

England have played a similar number of Test matches to the Kangaroos since the last World Cup in recent years.

Yet Wane believes that the caliber of the NRL - and level of the State of Origin matches between New South Wales and Queensland - provide a much better foundation for performing at the highest level of the global stage than what is available in the Europe.

The England coach commented that the hectic Super League fixture schedule left little opportunity for him to train his team during the campaign, which will only pose more issues around how England can bridge the gap to Australia before travelling to the Southern Hemisphere in 2026.

"The Australians play a large number of internationals in their competition," Wane stated.

"We have ten to fifteen a year. It's crucial really intense games to enhance the domestic league and improve our prospects of winning these high-stakes fixtures.

"I couldn't even practice with the players. There was no chance to got on the field in the season and I had the full backing of all clubs in Super League.

"I have also been in the boots of the head coaches that need to win games. The competition is that tight. It's a pity but that's not the reason we lost today."