England coach Steve McNamara spoke of his frustration after watching his side suffer a narrow defeat by New Zealand in Dunedin that puts them on the brink of elimination from the Four Nations Series. England could yet play the Kiwis in the final if Samoa beat champions Australia by fewer than eight points on Sunday, but that is unlikely. An early exit would leave McNamara cursing his luck as Ryan Hall had a try disallowed for the second time in a week after the controversy against Australia. England were also denied by the woodwork when Gareth Widdop’s first two conversion attempts rebounded off the uprights.
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England all but miss out on a Four Nations final spot after loss to hosts
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New Zealand  face Australia in next week in a World Cup final replay, unless Samoa beat the Kangaroos by less than eight points on Sunday
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Ryan Hall scored a double and Josh Charnley crossed for visitors
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Jason Nightingale scored two and Manu Vatuvei crossed for the Kiwis
Needing to win by 10 points to make the final, @placeholder’s task grew after conceding the first of Jason Nightingale’s two tries inside two minutes.
Manu Vatuvei’s try early in the second-half made it 16-8 and, although @placeholder grabbed a second to extend his record try haul to 24 in just 23 appearances, England once more came up just short.