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As stated by leader George Williams, England were handed a stark "reality check" as the Kangaroos won the prestigious series.

The Kangaroos' 14-4 victory at the stadium in Liverpool on Saturday gave them a commanding series edge, making next week's sold-out third Test a meaningless fixture.

The national squad had come into the series holding aspirations of inflicting the Kangaroos to their initial series loss since 1970.

Recently, they had achieved a clean sweep over Tonga and a success over Samoa. But as the historic rivalry returned after a long break, the English were unable to make the leap against the top-ranked team.

"We're not making excuses. We've had enough training periods to get it right on the pitch, and it's clear we've quite done that," Williams told.

"Full marks to the Kangaroos. They proved excellent defensively. But we've got plenty to improve. It seems not as prepared as we expected we were going into this series.

"So it's a good lesson for us, and we have plenty to develop."

Australia 'Turn Up and Are Ruthless'

Having been comprehensively defeated in an sloppy showing at the national stadium, England's were significantly better on Saturday back in the rugby league heartlands of England's north.

In a rousing opening period, the home side caused turnovers from the Kangaroos and had superior positioning and ball control, but unfortunately did not convert opportunities on the scoreboard.

Notably, England have now scored just one score over the series so far, with player the forward powering through late on in the loss in the capital.

In contrast, the Kangaroos have accumulated half a dozen in two games - and when mistakes began to affect the hosts' play just after the break, 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 level at 4-4, England were down by double digits.

"Proud for the bulk of the game. In my view for most of the match we were solid," said the coach.

"The lapse for 10 minutes after half-time damaged us severely. Munster's try was avoidable and should not be scored in a international fixture.

"We're heartbroken. So proud the squad had a fight but very frustrated with that second-half lapse, which proved costly heavily."

Although the upcoming global tournament in Oceania is just under next year, England's short-term goal will be on trying to salvage honor, avoiding a 3-0 sweep and addressing the issues that frustrated Wane.

"I hoped to see more thrown at Australia. I wanted us to maintain momentum in the game - we failed to deliver last week," added the 61-year-old.

"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] better.

"Credit to Australia - that is not a criticism to them. They turn up and are merciless when they capitalize, and we weren't, but defensively we can and should do better.

"They will be focused to win all three Tests and we need to be obsessed to make it a respectable scoreline. I've told that to the squad. This must become our primary goal. It's going to be a difficult week but the side that wants it the most will get the win next week."

Competitive Edge Needs to Elevate in Super League

The English side have played a comparable number of international fixtures to Australia since the last World Cup in recent years.

Yet Wane argues that the strength of the NRL - and quality of the domestic rivalry matches between New South Wales and Queensland - provide a more effective grounding for competing at the top of the global stage than what is available in the northern hemisphere.

Wane noted that the packed Super League fixture list allowed no time for him to coach his players during the season, which will only raise more issues around how England can close the divide to the Kangaroos before heading to the Southern Hemisphere in 2026.

"The Australians participate in a lot of internationals in their competition," he stated.

"England play 10-15 a year. It's crucial really intense games to boost the competition and improve our prospects of succeeding in these high-stakes fixtures.

"It was impossible to even practice with the squad. There was no chance to trained together in the campaign and I had the full backing of everyone in the domestic competition.

"I have also been in the position of the head coaches that must to win games. The competition is that congested. It's a pity but it's not the reason we were defeated today."