🔗 Share this article

According to skipper George Williams, England were handed 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 Headingley encounter a meaningless fixture.

Shaun Wane's side had come into the series holding aspirations of inflicting the Kangaroos to their first Ashes series defeat since 1970.

Recently, they had enjoyed a clean sweep over the Tongan side and a success over the Samoan team. But as the Rugby League Ashes resumed after a two-decade hiatus, England were unable to take the next step against the top-ranked team.

"No excuses from us. There were enough training periods to execute properly on the field, and I don't think we've managed that," Williams stated.

"Credit to Australia. They were strong defensively. But there's a lot to work on. It seems not as good as we believed we were going into this series.

"So it's a valuable lesson for us, and there is much to enhance."

The Kangaroos 'Turn Up and Prove Clinical'

After being heavily outplayed in an mistake-ridden performance at the national stadium, England's were markedly enhanced on Saturday back in the rugby league heartlands of northern England.

In an inspiring first half, the home side forced mistakes from the Kangaroos and had all the field position and possession, but crucially did not capitalize on the scoreboard.

Notably, England have now scored just one score over the series so far, with player the forward powering through late on in the defeat in London.

Conversely, the Kangaroos have scored six across the series - and when errors began to appear in the England's play just after the interval, it was a case of inevitability, they were going to be made to pay.

First the playmaker scored, and then so too did the forward. From being level at 4-4, England were down by double digits.

"Proud for the bulk of the game. In my view for most of the match we were solid," said the coach.

"The lapse for 10 minutes after the break hurt us greatly. Munster's try was soft and should never happen in a Test match.

"We're heartbroken. Extremely pleased the squad had a go but so disappointed with that second-half lapse, which cost us significantly."

While the upcoming global tournament in the Southern Hemisphere is just under 12 months away, England's short-term goal will be on attempting to salvage honor, avoiding a series whitewash and addressing the errors that annoyed the coach.

"I hoped to see additional intensity directed toward Australia. My aim was us to maintain momentum in the game - we failed to deliver last week," added the veteran coach.

"We managed this week. The issue is a lack of precision in our offensive play where we could have applied under increased strain. It's essential to defend both [tries] more effectively.

"Fair play to Australia - that is no slight to them. They turn up and are clinical when they seize opportunities, and we failed to be, but in defense we must do improve.

"They will be obsessed to win all three Tests and we need to be obsessed to make it a competitive series. I've told that to the squad. It has to be our primary goal. It will be a difficult week but the side that strives for it the most will secure victory next week."

Competitive Edge Must to Improve in Domestic Competition

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

Yet Wane thinks that the quality of the NRL - and quality of the State of Origin matches between New South Wales and QLD - offer a superior grounding for performing at the highest level of the international game than what is on offer in the northern hemisphere.

The England coach added that the hectic Super League calendar left little opportunity for him to train his squad during the campaign, which will only pose additional concerns around how England can narrow the difference to Australia before heading to Oceania in the next World Cup.

"They play a lot of internationals in their competition," he added.

"England play 10-15 a year. We need highly competitive games to enhance the competition and boost our chances of succeeding in these sorts of games.

"It was impossible to even train with the players. There was no chance to got on the field in the campaign and despite having the complete support of all clubs in Super League.

"I understand in the position of the head coaches that need to win games. The competition is that tight. It's unfortunate but it's not the reason we were defeated today."