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In the words of captain the England captain, the national team were delivered a brutal "wake-up call" as Australia secured the coveted Ashes trophy.

The Kangaroos' 14-4 triumph at Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday gave them a commanding series edge, making the upcoming sold-out third Test a academic contest.

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

In the past two years, they had secured a dominant victory over the Tongan side and a series win over Samoa. But as the Rugby League Ashes resumed after a 22-year absence, the English were unable to advance further against the reigning title holders.

"We're not making excuses. We've had enough preparations to perform correctly on the pitch, and it's clear we've managed that," Williams commented.

"Australia deserve praise. They were excellent defensively. But there's a lot to improve. We're probably not as prepared as we expected we were entering this series.

"This serves as a valuable wake-up call for us, and [there is] loads to develop."

Australia 'Show Up and Are Ruthless'

Having been soundly beaten in an mistake-ridden performance at Wembley, England's were markedly enhanced on the weekend back in the traditional strongholds of northern England.

In an inspiring opening period, the home side forced mistakes from the Kangaroos and had superior positioning and possession, but importantly did not make it count on the scoreboard.

Tellingly, England have now managed just a single touchdown over the series so far, with St Helens hooker the forward barging over late on in the defeat in the capital.

In contrast, the Kangaroos have racked up six across the series - and when errors began to appear in the England's play just after the interval, it was a case of certainty, they were going to be heavily penalized.

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

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

"The drop in intensity for a brief period after half-time damaged us greatly. The first try was soft and should never happen in a international fixture.

"The team is deeply disappointed. So proud the players had a fight but very frustrated with that after half-time, which cost us heavily."

While the next World Cup in Australia and Papua New Guinea is just under 12 months away, England's immediate focus will be on trying to restore some pride, avoiding a 3-0 sweep and eradicating the mistakes that annoyed the coach.

"I wanted to see more directed toward the opposition. I wanted us to maintain momentum in the game - we fell short last week," added the veteran coach.

"We did this week. It's just a minor refinements in our offense where we could have put them under more pressure. It's essential to defend both [tries] more effectively.

"Credit to the Kangaroos - that is not a criticism to them. They arrive and are clinical when they seize opportunities, and we failed to be, but in defense we can and should do better.

"They will be obsessed to win all three Tests 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 will be a tough week but the side that wants it the most will emerge victorious next week."

Intensity Must to Increase in Super League

The English side have played a comparable number of Test matches to the Kangaroos since the last World Cup in recent years.

However the coach argues that the caliber of the Australian league - and quality of the State of Origin matches between New South Wales and Queensland - provide a superior grounding for competing at the top of the global stage than what is on offer in the Europe.

The England coach noted that the packed domestic league calendar left no time for him to train his players during the season, which will only pose additional concerns around how England can close the divide to the Kangaroos before travelling to the Southern Hemisphere in the next World Cup.

"They participate in a lot of Test matches in their competition," Wane stated.

"We play 10-15 a year. We need highly competitive games to enhance the domestic league and improve our prospects of winning these types of matches.

"I couldn't even train with the players. There was no chance to got on the field in the campaign and I had the complete support of everyone in the domestic competition.

"I have also been in the position of the club managers that need to win games. The competition is that congested. It's unfortunate but it's not the cause we were defeated today."