🔗 Share this article

In the words of leader George Williams, England were given a harsh "sobering lesson" as the Kangaroos clinched the prestigious series.

The Kangaroos' decisive 14-4 win at Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday gave them a 2-0 series lead, making next week's sold-out third Test a dead rubber.

The England team had come into the series harbouring hopes of inflicting the Kangaroos to their first Ashes series defeat since the 1970s.

Over the last 24 months, they had achieved a 3-0 series win over the Tongan side and a series win over the Samoan team. But as the prestigious competition returned after a 22-year absence, the English were failed to advance further against the top-ranked team.

"We're not making excuses. There were enough preparations to get it right on the field, and I don't think we've quite done that," Williams stated.

"Credit to Australia. They proved strong defensively. But we've got a lot to address. We're probably not as strong as we thought we were entering this series.

"This serves as a necessary wake-up call for us, and there is much to enhance."

The Kangaroos 'Show Up and Are Clinical'

Having been comprehensively defeated in an mistake-ridden performance at the national stadium, England's were markedly enhanced on the weekend back in the core regions of northern England.

In a rousing first half, England elicited errors from the Australians and had dominant territory and ball control, but crucially did not make it count on the points tally.

Notably, the English team have now managed just a single touchdown over 160 minutes, with St Helens hooker Daryl Clark scoring late on in the setback in London.

Conversely, Australia have accumulated six across the series - and when errors began to affect the hosts' play just after the interval, it was a case of certainty, they were going to be heavily penalized.

First Cameron Munster crossed, 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 switch off for a brief period after half-time cost us severely. Munster's try was avoidable and should not be scored in a international fixture.

"The team is heartbroken. Extremely pleased the players had a fight but so disappointed with that post-interval, which hurt us heavily."

While the upcoming global tournament in Oceania is just under next year, the team's primary concern will be on attempting to regain respect, preventing a series whitewash and addressing the mistakes that irritated Wane.

"I wanted to see additional intensity directed toward the opposition. I wanted us to build pressure in the game - we didn't do that last week," added the veteran coach.

"We did this week. The issue is a minor refinements in our offensive play where we could have put them under more pressure. It's essential to stop each of [tries] more effectively.

"Credit to Australia - that is no detriment to them. They turn up and are ruthless when they capitalize, and we weren't, but defensively we must do better.

"They will be determined to win 3-0 and we need to be obsessed to make it a competitive series. I've told that to the players. It has to be our main aim. It's going to be a tough week but the side that desires it the most will emerge victorious next week."

Competitive Edge Must to Elevate in Super League

England have participated in a similar number of international fixtures to Australia since the previous global tournament in 2022.

Yet Wane believes that the caliber of the Australian league - and standard of the State of Origin matches between New South Wales and QLD - deliver a much better preparation for performing at the top of the global stage than what is available in the northern hemisphere.

The England coach added that the hectic domestic league fixture schedule allowed little opportunity for him to work with his squad during the campaign, which will only pose further questions around how the national team can bridge the gap to Australia before heading to Oceania in the next World Cup.

"The Australians play a lot of Test matches in their competition," he added.

"We play 10-15 a year. It's crucial highly competitive games to boost the competition and increase our prospects of winning these sorts of games.

"It was impossible to even practice with the squad. We never trained together in the campaign and I had the complete support of everyone in Super League.

"I have also been in the position of the club managers that must to win games. The competition is that congested. It's a pity but that's not the reason we lost today."