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

Australia's decisive 14-4 win at the Merseyside venue on the weekend gave them a commanding series edge, making the upcoming final match in Leeds a meaningless fixture.

The England team had entered the series dreaming of sending the Kangaroos to their first Ashes series defeat since the 1970s.

In the past two years, they had achieved a clean sweep over Tonga and a 2-0 triumph over Samoa. But as the Rugby League Ashes resumed after a long break, the English were failed to take the next step against the reigning title holders.

"We're not making excuses. We've had enough sessions to get it right on the field, and it's clear we've quite done that," the captain stated.

"Australia deserve praise. They were strong defensively. But there's loads to improve. It seems not as good as we thought we were going into this series.

"This serves as a valuable lesson for us, and we have plenty to develop."

Australia 'Arrive and Prove Ruthless'

Having been soundly beaten in an mistake-ridden performance at the national stadium, Wane side's were markedly enhanced on the weekend back in the core regions of the North.

In a rousing initial stages, the home side forced mistakes from the Kangaroos and had dominant territory and possession, but unfortunately did not capitalize on the points tally.

Significantly, the English team have now scored just a single touchdown over the series so far, with player Daryl Clark powering through late on in the setback in London.

In contrast, Australia have scored six across the series - and when mistakes began to affect the hosts' play just after the break, it was a case of certainty, they were going to be heavily penalized.

First Cameron Munster scored, and then so too did Hudson Young. From being tied at 4-4, England were trailing by 10.

"Proud for the bulk of the game. In my view for 70 minutes we were good," said the coach.

"The lapse for 10 minutes after the break damaged us immensely. The first try was soft and should not be scored in a international fixture.

"We're heartbroken. Extremely pleased the players had a fight but so disappointed with that second-half lapse, which proved costly heavily."

Although the next World Cup in the Southern Hemisphere is just under next year, England's short-term goal will be on attempting to salvage honor, preventing a 3-0 sweep and eliminating the errors that frustrated Wane.

"I hoped to see additional intensity thrown at the opposition. My aim was us to build pressure in the game - we fell short last week," added the 61-year-old.

"We did this week. It's just a lack of precision in our offense where we could have put them under greater stress. We need to defend both [tries] with greater resolve.

"Credit to Australia - that is no slight to them. They perform and are ruthless when they capitalize, and we weren't, but in defense we must do enhance.

"They will be obsessed to win 3-0 and we need to be just as focused to make it 2-1. I've said that to the players. It has to be our main aim. It's going to be a tough week but the side that strives for it the greatest will emerge victorious next week."

Competitive Edge Needs to Improve in Domestic Competition

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

Yet the coach thinks that the caliber of the NRL - and standard of the domestic rivalry matches between NSW and Queensland - deliver a much better preparation for competing at the highest level of the international game than what is on offer in the UK.

The England coach commented that the congested domestic league fixture list allowed no time for him to coach his players during the campaign, which will only pose additional concerns around how England can bridge the gap to the Kangaroos before travelling to the Southern Hemisphere in 2026.

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

"England play ten to fifteen a year. It's crucial highly competitive games to boost the competition and improve our chances of succeeding in these high-stakes fixtures.

"It was impossible to even practice with the players. There was no chance to trained together in the season and despite having the full backing of all clubs in Super League.

"I have also been in the boots of the head coaches that must to win games. The competition is that tight. It's unfortunate but it's not the cause we were defeated today."