🔗 Share this article

In the words of skipper the England captain, England were delivered a stark "reality check" as Australia secured the Rugby League Ashes.

Australia's 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 England team had come into the series harbouring hopes of sending Australia to their initial series loss since the 1970s.

Over the last 24 months, they had achieved a 3-0 series win over the Tongan side and a success over the Samoan team. But as the Rugby League Ashes returned after a two-decade hiatus, the English were failed to advance further against the world champions.

"We take full responsibility. There were enough training periods to get it right on the field, and it's clear we've quite done that," Williams stated.

"Credit to Australia. They proved good defensively. But we've got a lot to work on. It seems not as prepared as we believed we were going into this series.

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

Australia 'Show Up and Prove Ruthless'

Having been comprehensively defeated in an sloppy showing at the national stadium, Wane side's were significantly better on the weekend back in the rugby league heartlands of northern England.

In an inspiring initial stages, the home side caused turnovers from the Kangaroos and had all the field position and possession, but crucially did not capitalize on the scoreboard.

Significantly, England have now managed just a single touchdown over two full matches, with St Helens hooker Daryl Clark barging over late on in the defeat in the capital.

Conversely, Australia have accumulated six across the series - and when blunders began to affect the England's play just after the half-time, it was a case of certainty, they were going to be made to pay.

Initially the playmaker crossed, and then so too did Hudson Young. From being tied at 4-4, the home side were trailing by 10.

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

"The lapse for 10 minutes after the break hurt us greatly. The first try was soft and should never happen in a Test match.

"We're heartbroken. Extremely pleased the squad had a dig but very frustrated with that post-interval, which proved costly significantly."

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 regain respect, avoiding a 3-0 sweep and addressing the mistakes that frustrated Wane.

"I wanted to see additional intensity thrown at Australia. My aim was us to build pressure in the game - we didn't do that last week," added the veteran coach.

"We did this week. It's just a lack of precision in our attack where we could have put them under more pressure. We need to defend both [tries] more effectively.

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

"They will be determined to win all three Tests and we need to be just as focused to make it a competitive series. I've told that to the squad. It has to be our obsession. It will be a tough week but the side that desires it the greatest will get the win next week."

Intensity Must to Elevate in Super League

The English side have played a similar number of international fixtures to the Kangaroos since the previous global tournament in 2022.

Yet the coach believes that the caliber of the NRL - and standard of the State of Origin matches between New South Wales and Queensland - deliver a much better foundation for competing at the highest level of the global stage than what is on offer in the Europe.

Wane noted that the hectic Super League fixture list left little opportunity for him to work with his players during the season, which will only pose additional concerns around how the national team can bridge the gap to Australia before travelling to Oceania in 2026.

"They participate in a large number of internationals in their league," he stated.

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

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

"I understand in the position of the club managers that need to win games. The league is that congested. It's unfortunate but that's not the cause we lost today."