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As stated by captain George Williams, England were given a stark "sobering lesson" as Australia secured the prestigious series.

Australia's 14-4 victory at the Merseyside venue on the weekend gave them a unassailable 2-0 advantage, making the upcoming final match in Leeds a academic contest.

Shaun Wane's side had entered the series holding aspirations of sending Australia to their initial series loss since over five decades ago.

In the past two years, they had achieved a 3-0 series win over the Tongan side and a 2-0 triumph over Samoa. But as the historic rivalry returned after a 22-year absence, England were failed to advance further against the world champions.

"We take full responsibility. We've had enough sessions to perform correctly on the field, and I don't think we've quite done that," the captain commented.

"Australia deserve praise. They proved excellent defensively. But we've got loads to address. It seems not as strong as we thought we were going into this series.

"This serves as a necessary reality check for us, and there is much to improve on."

Australia 'Arrive and Prove Merciless'

After being heavily outplayed in an mistake-ridden performance at Wembley, Wane side's were markedly enhanced on the weekend back in the core regions of England's north.

During an energetic opening period, England forced mistakes from the Kangaroos and had all the field position and possession, but importantly did not convert opportunities on the points tally.

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

Conversely, the Kangaroos have racked up half a dozen across the series - and when errors began to creep into the England's play just after the half-time, it was a case of certainty, they were going to be made to pay.

First Cameron Munster scored, and then so too did the forward. From being tied at four-all, England were down by double digits.

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

"The drop in intensity for 10 minutes after half-time cost us immensely. The first try was soft and should not be scored in a international fixture.

"The team is heartbroken. Extremely pleased the players had a go but so disappointed with that second-half lapse, which hurt us heavily."

Although the next World Cup in the Southern Hemisphere is just under a year from now, the team's short-term goal will be on attempting to restore some pride, preventing a clean sweep and eliminating the errors that annoyed the coach.

"I wanted to see additional intensity thrown at the opposition. I wanted us to apply sustained attack in the game - we didn't do that last week," added the veteran coach.

"We managed this week. It's just a minor refinements in our attack where we could have put them under increased strain. It's essential to defend both [tries] better.

"Credit to the Kangaroos - that is no slight to them. They perform and are ruthless when they get a chance, and we failed to be, but in defense we must do improve.

"The Australians will be determined to win 3-0 and we need to be equally determined to make it a respectable scoreline. I've told that to the squad. It has to be our obsession. It will be a tough week but whoever strives for it the most will emerge victorious next week."

Competitive Edge Needs to Improve in Domestic Competition

England have participated in a similar number of international fixtures to Australia since the last World Cup in 2022.

However Wane argues that the strength of the NRL - and standard of the State of Origin matches between New South Wales and QLD - deliver a more effective grounding for performing at the highest level of the global stage than what is available in the Europe.

The England coach added that the congested domestic league fixture schedule left no time for him to train his players during the season, which will only pose additional concerns around how England can close the divide to Australia before travelling to the Southern Hemisphere in 2026.

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

"England have ten to fifteen a year. We need highly competitive games to enhance the domestic league and improve our chances of succeeding in these high-stakes fixtures.

"I couldn't even train with the players. There was no chance to trained together in the season and despite having the full backing of everyone in the domestic competition.

"I understand in the boots of the club managers that need to win games. The competition is that tight. It's a pity but it's not the reason we lost today."