🔗 Share this article

According to skipper George Williams, England were handed a harsh "reality check" as the Kangaroos won the Rugby League Ashes.

Australia's decisive 14-4 win at Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday gave them a 2-0 series lead, making the upcoming Headingley encounter a meaningless fixture.

The England team had entered the series dreaming of sending Australia to their maiden Ashes setback since over five decades ago.

In the past two years, they had achieved a dominant victory over the Tongan side and a 2-0 triumph over Samoa. But as the historic rivalry resumed after a 22-year absence, the English were unable to make the leap against the reigning title holders.

"We're not making excuses. We've had enough sessions to perform correctly on the pitch, and it's clear we've achieved that," the captain told.

"Full marks to the Kangaroos. They proved strong in defense. But we've got loads to work on. We're probably not as good as we thought we were going into this series.

"So it's a necessary lesson for us, and we have plenty to develop."

Australia 'Turn Up and Are Clinical'

After being comprehensively defeated in an mistake-ridden performance at Wembley, Wane side's were markedly enhanced on Saturday back in the rugby league heartlands of northern England.

In an inspiring initial stages, the home side elicited errors from the Australians 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 try over the series so far, with player Daryl Clark barging over late on in the loss in the capital.

On the other hand, the Kangaroos have accumulated six across the series - and when blunders began to creep into the England's play just after the half-time, it was a case of when, not if, they were going to be severely punished.

Initially Cameron Munster went over, and then so too did Hudson Young. From being level at four-all, England were 10 points adrift.

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

"The lapse for 10 minutes after half-time hurt us immensely. Munster's try was easy and should never happen in a international fixture.

"The team is deeply disappointed. Extremely pleased the squad had a fight but so disappointed with that second-half lapse, which cost us significantly."

Although the upcoming global tournament in Oceania is just under 12 months away, England's immediate focus will be on trying to restore some pride, preventing a 3-0 sweep and eliminating the errors that annoyed the coach.

"I wanted to see additional intensity thrown at the opposition. My aim was us to apply sustained attack in the game - we didn't do that last week," added the 61-year-old.

"We did this week. The issue is a bit of detail in our attack where we could have put them under more pressure. We need to stop each of [tries] better.

"Fair play to Australia - that is no detriment to them. They perform and are clinical when they get a chance, 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 said that to the squad. This must become our obsession. It will be a challenging week but the side that desires it the greatest will secure victory next week."

Competitive Edge Must to Elevate in Super League

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

However Wane thinks that the strength of the NRL - and level of the State of Origin matches between New South Wales and QLD - provide a more effective foundation for performing at the top of the global stage than what is available in the Europe.

Wane noted that the congested Super League calendar allowed little opportunity for him to work with his squad during the season, which will only raise additional concerns around how England can bridge the gap to Australia before travelling to the Southern Hemisphere in 2026.

"The Australians play a large number of internationals in their competition," Wane remarked.

"We play 10-15 a year. We need highly competitive games to enhance the competition and improve our chances of succeeding in these high-stakes fixtures.

"I couldn't even train with the squad. There was no chance to got on the field in the campaign and despite having the total cooperation of all clubs in Super League.

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