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In the words of captain George Williams, England were delivered a brutal "sobering lesson" as the Kangaroos won the prestigious series.

The Kangaroos' 14-4 victory at the stadium in Liverpool on Saturday gave them a 2-0 series lead, making the upcoming sold-out third Test a dead rubber.

The national squad had entered the series holding aspirations of inflicting the Kangaroos to their initial series loss since over five decades ago.

Recently, they had secured a 3-0 series win over Tonga and a success over the Samoan team. But as the prestigious competition resumed after a long break, the English were failed to make the leap against the world champions.

"No excuses from us. There were enough training periods to get it right on the field, and it's clear we've achieved that," Williams told.

"Full marks to the Kangaroos. They proved excellent defensively. But there's a lot to improve. It seems not as prepared as we believed we were entering this series.

"So it's a good reality check for us, and there is much to improve on."

The Kangaroos 'Show Up and Are Ruthless'

After being heavily outplayed in an error-strewn display at Wembley, England's were much improved on Saturday back in the rugby league heartlands of northern England.

During an energetic opening period, the home side caused turnovers from the Australians and had superior positioning and ball control, but importantly did not capitalize on the scoreboard.

Significantly, England have now scored just a single touchdown over 160 minutes, with player Daryl Clark scoring late on in the loss in London.

In contrast, the Kangaroos have racked up half a dozen in two games - and when errors began to creep into the hosts' play just after the half-time, it was a case of certainty, they were going to be heavily penalized.

Initially the playmaker crossed, and then so too did the forward. From being tied at 4-4, the home side were down by double digits.

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

"The lapse for a brief period after half-time hurt us severely. Munster's try was soft and should not be scored in a international fixture.

"We're deeply disappointed. So proud the players had a dig but so disappointed with that after half-time, which proved costly heavily."

While the next World Cup in the Southern Hemisphere is just under 12 months away, England's immediate focus will be on trying to regain respect, preventing a 3-0 sweep and addressing the mistakes that frustrated the coach.

"I hoped to see more thrown at the opposition. I wanted us to apply sustained attack in the game - we didn't do that last week," added the 61-year-old.

"We did this week. It's just a lack of precision in our offense where we could have applied under greater stress. We need to defend both [tries] more effectively.

"Fair play to the Kangaroos - that is not a criticism to them. They perform and are merciless when they capitalize, and we weren't, but in defense we must do enhance.

"They will be focused to win all three Tests and we need to be obsessed to make it 2-1. I've said that to the squad. It has to be our main aim. It will be a difficult week but whoever wants it the most will emerge victorious next week."

Intensity Needs to Increase in Super League

England have participated in a comparable number of Test matches to Australia since the previous global tournament in 2022.

Yet the coach believes that the strength of the NRL - and standard of the State of Origin matches between New South Wales and Queensland - provide a more effective foundation for competing at the top of the global stage than what is on offer in the UK.

The England coach noted that the congested Super League calendar allowed no time for him to work with his team during the campaign, which will only raise additional concerns around how the national team can close the divide to Australia before heading to the Southern Hemisphere in the next World Cup.

"The Australians play a large number of internationals in their league," Wane remarked.

"We play ten to fifteen a year. We need demanding games to enhance the domestic league and boost our chances of succeeding in these types of matches.

"It was impossible to even practice with the players. We never got on the field in the season and despite having the complete support of all clubs in the domestic competition.

"I understand in the position of the club managers that must to win games. The league is that tight. It's a pity but it's not the cause we lost today."