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In the words of captain the England captain, the national team were delivered a harsh "reality check" as Australia clinched the Rugby League Ashes.

The Kangaroos' 14-4 triumph at Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday gave them a 2-0 series lead, making the upcoming Headingley encounter a dead rubber.

The England team had come into the series dreaming of inflicting the Kangaroos to their maiden Ashes setback since the 1970s.

In the past two years, they had enjoyed a dominant victory over Tonga and a success over the Samoan team. But as the Rugby League Ashes returned after a 22-year absence, the English were unable to make the leap against the top-ranked team.

"No excuses from us. We've had enough training periods to perform correctly on the pitch, and I don't think we've quite done that," the captain stated.

"Australia deserve praise. They proved strong in defense. But we've got loads to address. We're probably not as prepared as we expected we were entering this series.

"This serves as a valuable lesson for us, and [there is] loads to develop."

Australia 'Show Up and Are Merciless'

Having been comprehensively defeated in an sloppy showing at the national stadium, Wane side's were significantly better on Saturday back in the traditional strongholds of England's north.

In a rousing first half, the home side elicited errors from the Kangaroos and had all the field position and ball control, but crucially did not capitalize on the points tally.

Tellingly, the English team have now managed just one try over the series so far, with player the forward powering through late on in the defeat in the capital.

Conversely, the Kangaroos have scored six across the series - and when blunders began to creep into the England's play just after the break, it was a case of certainty, they were going to be made to pay.

First Cameron Munster scored, and then so too did Hudson Young. From being level at four-all, England were trailing by 10.

"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 the break hurt us immensely. The first try was soft and should not be scored in a top-level game.

"We're deeply disappointed. So proud the squad had a dig but very frustrated with that post-interval, which hurt us dearly."

While the upcoming global tournament in Oceania is just under 12 months away, the team's immediate focus will be on attempting to salvage honor, preventing a 3-0 sweep and eradicating the issues that frustrated Wane.

"I hoped to see additional intensity directed toward the opposition. My aim was us to apply sustained attack in the game - we failed to deliver last week," added the 61-year-old.

"We managed this week. It's just a lack of precision in our offense where we could have applied under increased strain. It's essential to stop each of [tries] better.

"Fair play to Australia - that is not a criticism to them. They turn up and are ruthless when they capitalize, and we weren't, but defensively we must do improve.

"The Australians will be obsessed to win the series whitewash 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 tough week but whoever desires it the greatest will emerge victorious next week."

Intensity Must to Improve 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 Wane thinks that the quality of the Australian league - and level of the domestic rivalry matches between New South Wales and Queensland - provide a superior grounding for performing at the highest level of the international game than what is on offer in the northern hemisphere.

The England coach noted that the hectic domestic league fixture list left no time for him to work with his team during the campaign, which will only pose more issues around how England can narrow the difference to the Kangaroos before heading to the Southern Hemisphere in 2026.

"They play a lot of Test matches in their league," he stated.

"England play ten to fifteen a year. It's crucial demanding games to enhance the competition and increase our chances of succeeding in these high-stakes fixtures.

"I couldn't even train with the squad. There was no chance to got on the field in the season and I had the total cooperation of all clubs in the domestic competition.

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