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As stated by skipper the England captain, England were handed a harsh "wake-up call" as the Kangaroos secured the Rugby League Ashes.

The Kangaroos' decisive 14-4 win at Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium on the weekend gave them a 2-0 series lead, making the upcoming final match in Leeds a academic contest.

The national squad had come into the series dreaming of sending Australia to their initial series loss since the 1970s.

Over the last 24 months, they had enjoyed a dominant victory over the Tongan side and a success 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're not making excuses. There were enough preparations to execute properly on the pitch, and I don't think we've quite done that," Williams told.

"Credit to Australia. They were excellent in defense. But we've got a lot to improve. We're probably not as prepared as we believed we were entering this series.

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

The Kangaroos 'Arrive and Prove Clinical'

Having been heavily outplayed in an mistake-ridden performance at the national stadium, England's were significantly better on Saturday back in the rugby league heartlands of England's north.

During an energetic opening period, the home side forced mistakes from the Kangaroos and had all the field position and possession, but importantly did not capitalize on the points tally.

Notably, the English team have now managed just one score over the series so far, with player Daryl Clark powering through late on in the loss in London.

Conversely, Australia have racked up six so far - and when mistakes began to creep into the England's play just after the interval, it was a case of certainty, they were going to be severely punished.

First the playmaker scored, and then so too did Hudson Young. From being tied at four-all, the home side were down by double digits.

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

"The switch off for 10 minutes after the break damaged us severely. Munster's try was avoidable and should not be scored in a top-level game.

"We're heartbroken. So proud the squad had a fight but so disappointed with that second-half lapse, which cost us heavily."

While the next World Cup in the Southern Hemisphere is just under a year from now, the team's immediate focus will be on attempting to regain respect, preventing a clean sweep and eliminating the issues that irritated Wane.

"I hoped to see additional intensity thrown at the opposition. My aim was us to build pressure in the game - we failed to deliver last week," added the 61-year-old.

"We did this week. The issue is a lack of precision in our attack where we could have applied under greater stress. We need to stop each of [tries] more effectively.

"Fair play to the Kangaroos - that is no slight to them. They perform and are merciless when they seize opportunities, and we weren't, but defensively we must do improve.

"They will be obsessed to win the series whitewash and we need to be just as focused to make it a competitive series. I've said that to the players. It has to be our main aim. It's going to be a challenging week but the side that desires it the most will secure victory next week."

Intensity Needs to Improve in Domestic Competition

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

Yet Wane thinks that the caliber of the NRL - and level of the State of Origin matches between New South Wales and Queensland - provide a superior grounding for performing at the highest level of the global stage than what is available in the UK.

Wane commented that the congested Super League fixture list left little opportunity for him to work with his squad during the season, which will only pose additional concerns around how England can close the divide to the Kangaroos before travelling to Oceania in the next World Cup.

"They play a large number of internationals in their competition," he remarked.

"England have ten to fifteen a year. It's crucial highly competitive games to boost the competition and improve our chances of winning these sorts of games.

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

"I understand in the boots of the head coaches that must to win games. The league is that packed. It's unfortunate but it's not the cause we got beaten today."