The Kangaroos Defeat England to Secure Ashes
In the words of captain the England captain, England were delivered a stark "sobering lesson" as the Kangaroos secured the prestigious series.
The Kangaroos' 14-4 triumph at Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium on the weekend gave them a commanding series edge, making next week's Headingley encounter a meaningless fixture.
Shaun Wane's side had come into the series harbouring hopes of sending Australia to their maiden Ashes setback since over five decades ago.
In the past two years, they had enjoyed a dominant victory over the Tongan side and a 2-0 triumph over the Samoan team. But as the Rugby League Ashes returned after a two-decade hiatus, the English were unable to advance further against the top-ranked team.
"We take full responsibility. We've had enough preparations to get it right on the pitch, and I don't think we've quite done that," the captain stated.
"Credit to Australia. They proved good in defense. But we've got loads to address. We're probably not as strong as we expected we were going into this series.
"So it's a good wake-up call for us, and [there is] loads to enhance."
Australia 'Show Up and Prove Ruthless'
The Kangaroos scored two touchdowns in a brief period during the second half of the Weekend clash
Having been heavily outplayed in an error-strewn display at the national stadium, Wane side's were markedly enhanced on Saturday back in the rugby league heartlands of England's north.
In an inspiring initial stages, England forced mistakes from the Kangaroos and had superior positioning and ball control, but unfortunately did not capitalize on the points tally.
Significantly, England have now managed just a single touchdown over two full matches, with player Daryl Clark barging over late on in the loss in the capital.
In contrast, Australia have scored six so far - and when mistakes began to affect the England's play just after the interval, it was a case of inevitability, they were going to be severely punished.
Initially Cameron Munster went over, and then so too did the forward. From being level at four-all, the home side were down by double digits.
"Proud for the bulk of the game. In my view for 70 minutes we were solid," said Wane.
"The lapse for a brief period after half-time damaged us immensely. Munster's try was easy and should never happen in a Test match.
"We're deeply disappointed. So proud the squad had a fight but very frustrated with that second-half lapse, which hurt us significantly."
Although the next World Cup in Oceania is just under 12 months away, England's short-term goal will be on attempting to restore some pride, avoiding a series whitewash and eradicating the mistakes that annoyed Wane.
"I hoped to see more directed toward Australia. I wanted us to maintain momentum in the game - we failed to deliver last week," added the 61-year-old.
"We managed this week. It's just a minor refinements in our offensive play where we could have put them under more pressure. It's essential to stop each of [tries] better.
"Credit to the Kangaroos - that is no detriment to them. They perform and are clinical when they capitalize, and we weren't, but defensively we must do enhance.
"The Australians will be obsessed to win the series whitewash and we need to be just as focused to make it a competitive series. I've said that to the squad. It has to be our main aim. It's going to be a difficult week but the side that strives for it the greatest will secure victory next week."
Intensity Must to Increase in Super League
England have participated in a comparable number of Test matches to the Kangaroos since the last World Cup in recent years.
However the coach thinks that the strength of the NRL - and level of the State of Origin matches between NSW and Queensland - provide a superior foundation for performing at the top of the global stage than what is available in the UK.
The England coach added that the packed Super League fixture schedule allowed no time for him to train his squad during the campaign, which will only raise more issues around how the national team can narrow the difference to Australia before heading to the Southern Hemisphere in the next World Cup.
"They participate in a lot of Test matches in their league," Wane added.
"We have 10-15 a year. We need demanding games to boost the competition and improve our prospects of winning these types of matches.
"It was impossible to even train with the squad. There was no chance to trained together in the campaign and I had the full backing of everyone in Super League.
"I have also been in the boots of the club managers that must to win games. The league is that congested. It's a pity but that's not the reason we got beaten today."
