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In the words of leader George Williams, England were given a harsh "wake-up call" as Australia won the coveted Ashes trophy.

Australia's 14-4 triumph at the Merseyside venue on Saturday gave them a 2-0 series lead, making the upcoming Headingley encounter a dead rubber.

The national squad had entered the series harbouring hopes of inflicting the Kangaroos to their maiden Ashes setback since the 1970s.

In the past two years, they had secured a 3-0 series win over Tonga and a 2-0 triumph over the Samoan team. But as the Rugby League Ashes returned after a 22-year absence, England were unable to make the leap against the top-ranked team.

"We take full responsibility. There were enough preparations to perform correctly on the field, and it's clear we've managed that," the captain commented.

"Credit to Australia. They were strong defensively. But there's plenty to improve. We're probably not as strong as we thought we were entering this series.

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

The Kangaroos 'Arrive and Prove Clinical'

After being heavily outplayed in an mistake-ridden performance at the national stadium, England's were much improved on the weekend back in the rugby league heartlands of northern England.

In a rousing opening period, the home side elicited errors from the Kangaroos and had dominant territory and possession, but importantly did not capitalize on the points tally.

Significantly, the English team have now scored just a single touchdown over two full matches, with player Daryl Clark powering through late on in the defeat in the capital.

In contrast, Australia have scored half a dozen so far - and when errors began to affect the hosts' play just after the half-time, it was a case of when, not if, they were going to be heavily penalized.

Initially the playmaker went over, and then so too did the forward. From being tied at four-all, the home side were down by double digits.

"Proud for the majority of the game. In my view for most of the match we were competitive," said Wane.

"The lapse for a brief period after half-time damaged us immensely. The first try was soft and should never happen in a top-level game.

"We're devastated. Extremely pleased the squad had a go but so disappointed with that after half-time, which cost us significantly."

While the next World Cup in the Southern Hemisphere is just under next year, the team's short-term goal will be on attempting to salvage honor, avoiding a clean sweep and addressing the mistakes that irritated the coach.

"I hoped to see greater effort directed toward Australia. I wanted us to apply sustained attack in the game - we didn't do that last week," added the 61-year-old.

"We managed this week. It's just a minor refinements in our offensive play where we could have put them under greater stress. We need to defend both [tries] with greater resolve.

"Credit to Australia - that is no detriment to them. They arrive and are merciless when they get a chance, and we failed to be, but in defense we can and should do enhance.

"The Australians will be obsessed to win all three Tests and we need to be obsessed to make it a respectable scoreline. I've told that to the players. It has to be our main aim. It will be a challenging week but whoever desires it the most will secure victory next week."

Intensity Must to Elevate in Super League

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

Yet Wane argues that the quality of the Australian league - and quality of the domestic rivalry matches between New South Wales and QLD - provide a more effective preparation for competing at the highest level of the international game than what is on offer in the Europe.

Wane commented that the hectic domestic league fixture schedule allowed little opportunity for him to coach his squad during the campaign, which will only raise additional concerns around how the national team can narrow the difference to Australia before travelling to Oceania in the next World Cup.

"They participate in a large number of Test matches in their competition," Wane added.

"England play 10-15 a year. We need demanding games to boost the domestic league and increase our prospects of succeeding in these sorts of games.

"It was impossible to even practice with the players. There was no chance to got on the field in the campaign and I had the full backing of all clubs in Super League.

"I have also been in the shoes of the club managers that need to win games. The competition is that packed. It's a pity but it's not the reason we lost today."