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As stated by leader the England captain, the national team were delivered a harsh "reality check" as Australia won the Rugby League Ashes.

The Kangaroos' 14-4 victory at Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday gave them a 2-0 series lead, making the upcoming final match in Leeds a academic contest.

Shaun Wane's side had come into the series holding aspirations of sending Australia to their first Ashes series defeat since 1970.

Recently, they had enjoyed a dominant victory over Tonga and a 2-0 triumph over the Samoan team. But as the historic rivalry resumed after a long break, England were unable to make the leap against the reigning title holders.

"We take full responsibility. There were enough preparations to perform correctly on the field, and I don't think we've achieved that," Williams commented.

"Credit to Australia. They were strong defensively. But there's loads to address. We're probably not as strong as we thought we were entering this series.

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

Australia 'Show Up and Are Clinical'

Having been soundly beaten in an mistake-ridden performance at the national stadium, England's were significantly better on the weekend back in the traditional strongholds of the North.

In an inspiring opening period, the home side elicited errors from the Australians and had all the field position and ball control, but crucially did not capitalize on the scoreboard.

Notably, England have now scored just one try over 160 minutes, with St Helens hooker the forward scoring late on in the defeat in London.

In contrast, Australia have accumulated six in two games - and when blunders began to appear in the hosts' play just after the break, it was a case of certainty, they were going to be made to pay.

First the playmaker scored, and then so too did Hudson Young. From being tied at four-all, England were trailing by 10.

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

"The switch off for 10 minutes after the break hurt us greatly. The first try was easy and should not be scored in a top-level game.

"The team is heartbroken. Extremely pleased the players had a dig but very frustrated with that after half-time, which hurt us heavily."

Although the upcoming global tournament in Australia and Papua New Guinea is just under next year, England's immediate focus will be on trying to salvage honor, avoiding a series whitewash and eliminating the issues that irritated the coach.

"I hoped to see additional intensity thrown at the opposition. My aim was 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 bit of detail in our offensive play where we could have applied under greater stress. It's essential to defend both [tries] more effectively.

"Credit to the Kangaroos - that is no slight to them. They arrive and are merciless when they get a chance, and we weren't, but defensively we can and should do better.

"They will be determined to win all three Tests and we need to be obsessed to make it 2-1. I've told that to the squad. This must become our primary goal. It will be a difficult week but the side that desires it the greatest will secure victory next week."

Competitive Edge Needs to Elevate in Domestic Competition

The English side have participated in a similar number of international fixtures to the Kangaroos since the last World Cup in recent years.

However the coach argues that the caliber of the NRL - and standard of the domestic rivalry matches between New South Wales and Queensland - provide a more effective preparation for performing at the highest level of the global stage than what is on offer in the Europe.

The England coach noted that the packed Super League calendar allowed no time for him to train his squad during the season, which will only raise more issues around how the national team can close the divide to Australia before heading to the Southern Hemisphere in 2026.

"The Australians play a lot of internationals in their competition," Wane stated.

"England have ten to fifteen a year. It's crucial really intense games to enhance the competition and increase our prospects of winning these sorts of games.

"It was impossible to even practice with the squad. We never got on the field in the campaign and I had the full backing of all clubs in Super League.

"I understand in the boots of the club managers that need to win games. The league is that congested. It's unfortunate but that's not the reason we got beaten today."