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According to leader the England captain, the national team were delivered a harsh "wake-up call" as Australia clinched the coveted Ashes trophy.

Australia's 14-4 triumph at Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium 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 harbouring hopes of sending Australia to their first Ashes series defeat since 1970.

In the past two years, they had enjoyed a dominant victory over Tonga and a success over the Samoan team. But as the historic rivalry returned after a long break, the English were failed to make the leap against the top-ranked team.

"No excuses from us. There were enough preparations to perform correctly on the field, and it's clear we've quite done that," Williams told.

"Full marks to the Kangaroos. They proved excellent in defense. But there's plenty to improve. It seems not as prepared as we thought we were entering this series.

"This serves as a necessary lesson for us, and [there is] loads to enhance."

The Kangaroos 'Arrive and Prove Clinical'

Having been comprehensively defeated in an mistake-ridden performance at the national stadium, England's were significantly better on Saturday back in the traditional strongholds of the North.

In an inspiring opening period, the home side elicited errors from the Kangaroos and had superior positioning and possession, but unfortunately did not capitalize on the points tally.

Tellingly, England have now scored just a single touchdown over 160 minutes, with St Helens hooker the forward powering through late on in the loss in the capital.

Conversely, the Kangaroos have racked up six so far - and when blunders began to appear in the hosts' play just after the break, it was a case of when, not if, they were going to be severely punished.

First Cameron Munster went over, and then so too did Hudson Young. From being tied at 4-4, England were trailing by 10.

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

"The switch off for 10 minutes after the break cost us immensely. The first try was avoidable and should never happen in a Test match.

"The team is deeply disappointed. Extremely pleased the players had a dig but very frustrated with that second-half lapse, which proved costly dearly."

While the next World Cup in the Southern Hemisphere is just under 12 months away, England's immediate focus will be on attempting to salvage honor, preventing a series whitewash and eliminating the issues that frustrated Wane.

"I hoped to see more thrown at the opposition. My aim was us to maintain momentum in the game - we didn't do that last week," added the 61-year-old.

"We did this week. The issue is a minor refinements in our attack where we could have applied under greater stress. It's essential to stop each of [tries] more effectively.

"Fair play to the Kangaroos - that is not a criticism to them. They perform and are clinical when they seize opportunities, and we failed to be, but in defense we must do improve.

"The Australians will be determined to win the series whitewash and we need to be equally determined to make it 2-1. I've told that to the squad. This must become our primary goal. It will be a difficult week but the side that strives for it the most will get the win next week."

Competitive Edge Needs to Elevate in Super League

The English side have participated in a comparable number of international fixtures to the Kangaroos since the previous global tournament in recent years.

However the coach thinks that the quality of the NRL - and quality of the State of Origin matches between New South Wales and QLD - offer a more effective foundation for competing at the highest level of the global stage than what is available in the northern hemisphere.

Wane commented that the congested Super League calendar left no time for him to work with his team during the campaign, which will only pose further questions around how the national team can close the divide to the Kangaroos before heading to the Southern Hemisphere in the next World Cup.

"They play a large number of Test matches in their competition," Wane stated.

"We have ten to fifteen a year. It's crucial highly competitive games to improve the domestic league and boost our prospects of succeeding in these types of matches.

"I couldn't even train with the players. We never trained together in the season and despite having the complete support of everyone in Super League.

"I understand in the boots of the club managers that must to win games. The competition is that tight. It's a pity but that's not the cause we got beaten today."