England 0 New Zealand 34

CHRIS Hill and Stefan Ratchford could not help England secure a 3-0 series whitewash as New Zealand stormed to victory in the final Test.

Warrington Wolves full-back Ratchford played much of the second half in the centres, while Chris Hill was used in an interchange prop role at Elland Road as Wayne Bennett’s side, who had three tries ruled out by video referee Phil Bentham, finished the series poorly

England had the better of the first half but found themselves 18-0 down at the break as Ken Maumalo, Isaac Liu and Kodi Nikorima crossed for tries.

Maumalo, Jesse Bromwich and Joseph Tapine then got second-half scores as New Zealand salvaged some pride from a disappointing tour with a dominant if slightly flattering scoreline.

Warrington Guardian:

Warrington Guardian:

England and New Zealand players join together for Armistice Day commemorations at Elland Road. Pictures by Richard Sellars/PA Wire

Both Wire players began on the bench, and they could only watch as New Zealand got off to a flyer.

Shaun Johnson’s break got them on the front foot and after some inventive offloading from Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and Dallin Watene-Zelezniak opened a gap up for Maumalo to power over.

England were aggrieved early on as at least two clear high tackles and several slow play-the-balls went unpunished by referee Gerard Sutton, before Tommy Makinson had a spectacular try ruled out for an obstruction by Tom Burgess.

From the resulting penalty, video referee Phil Bentham pressing the red button again after Jamayne Issako was found to have just stepped in touch before flicking an excellent pass for Kevin Proctor to score.

The home side were enjoying plenty of possession and territory, but they could not make it could and the Kiwis made them pay.

Nikorima found Liu on a great angle and the second rower charged through to extend the tourists’ lead.

That seemed to galvanise Michael Maguire’s men, and Nikorima went from provider to scorer on the stroke of half-time.

Hill could not hold onto the Brisbane Broncos man and he found Johnson in support. He was ankle-tapped by Jonny Lomax, but Nikorima was on hand to finish the move.

The next score after the break was crucial, and it came for the tourists just four minutes after the restart.

Nikorima sent a teasing kick to the wing and Maumalo timed his jump above Jermaine McGillvary to perfection to touch down.

Ratchford entered the fray for the first time following that score to replace the injured Jake Connor, slotting into the left centre position vacated by the Hull FC man.

England were flat for a period after that but were boosted when Waerea-Hargreaves was sin-binned for a flop on Josh Hodgson right on the line.

That led the hosts to pound the New Zealand line, but a third England try was ruled out by the video referee when Makinson’s foot touched the sideline before he grounded the ball.

That was as close as they came with a man extra, though, as Johnson’s pinpoint kicking game helped New Zealand manage the game.

They were aided in that quest by McGillvary being yellow-carded for a professional foul as he held down Tapine to buy his defensive line some time.

From the resulting penalty, Nikorima was the thorn in England’s side again as he sent Bromwich over between the posts.

The fatigue was starting to show within the England ranks, as demonstrated by a terrible drop-out from Lomax that failed to go 10 metres.

New Zealand were again clinical from the penalty, with Tapine crashing over.

England: Jonny Lomax; Jermaine McGillvary, Oliver Gildart, Jake Connor, Tommy Makinson; George Williams, Richie Myler; Tom Burgess, Josh Hodgson, James Graham, John Bateman, Elliot Whitehead, Luke Thompson. Subs: Chris Hill, Adam Milner, Joe Greenwood, Stefan Ratchford.