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According to skipper the England captain, the national team were given a brutal "wake-up call" as Australia won the prestigious series.

Australia's 14-4 triumph at the stadium in Liverpool on Saturday gave them a unassailable 2-0 advantage, making next week's Headingley encounter a academic contest.

Shaun Wane's side had come into the series holding aspirations of sending the Kangaroos to their maiden Ashes setback since over five decades ago.

Over the last 24 months, they had secured a dominant victory over Tonga and a series win over Samoa. But as the Rugby League Ashes resumed after a two-decade hiatus, England were failed to take the next step against the world champions.

"We're not making excuses. We've had enough training periods to get it right on the pitch, and I don't think we've managed that," the captain told.

"Credit to Australia. They proved excellent defensively. But there's a lot to improve. We're probably not as prepared as we thought we were going into this series.

"So it's a necessary wake-up call for us, and there is much to improve on."

The Kangaroos 'Show Up and Prove Ruthless'

After being soundly beaten in an mistake-ridden performance at the national stadium, England's were much improved on the weekend back in the traditional strongholds of the North.

In a rousing initial stages, England forced mistakes from the Australians and had all the field position and possession, but crucially did not make it count on the points tally.

Notably, England have now managed just a single touchdown over the series so far, with player the forward scoring late on in the defeat in London.

On the other hand, the Kangaroos have accumulated half a dozen across the series - and when errors began to affect the England's play just after the interval, it was a case of inevitability, they were going to be severely punished.

First Cameron Munster went over, and then so too did Hudson Young. From being level at 4-4, the home side were 10 points adrift.

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

"The switch off for 10 minutes after the break cost us severely. The first try was easy and should not be scored in a international fixture.

"The team is devastated. So proud the squad had a go but very frustrated with that after half-time, which proved costly significantly."

Although the upcoming global tournament in the Southern Hemisphere is just under next year, the team's primary concern will be on attempting to restore some pride, avoiding a 3-0 sweep and eliminating the errors that irritated the coach.

"I wanted to see additional intensity directed toward Australia. I wanted us to apply sustained attack in the game - we didn't do that last week," added the 61-year-old.

"We managed this week. It's just a bit of detail in our offensive play where we could have put them under greater stress. We need to stop each of [tries] with greater resolve.

"Fair play to Australia - that is no slight to them. They turn up and are clinical when they seize opportunities, and we failed to be, but in defense we must do improve.

"The Australians will be focused to win the series whitewash and we need to be equally determined to make it a respectable scoreline. I've said that to the players. It has to be our obsession. It will be a difficult week but whoever desires it the most will get the win next week."

Competitive Edge Needs to Elevate in Domestic Competition

England have participated in a similar number of international fixtures to Australia since the previous global tournament in recent years.

Yet Wane thinks that the quality of the NRL - and quality of the domestic rivalry matches between NSW 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 added that the hectic domestic league fixture list left little opportunity for him to work with his players during the season, which will only raise additional concerns around how England can close the divide to Australia before travelling to Oceania in the next World Cup.

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

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

"I couldn't even practice with the players. There was no chance to got on the field in the season and despite having the full backing of all clubs in Super League.

"I understand in the position of the club managers that must to win games. The competition is that tight. It's unfortunate but that's not the cause we were defeated today."