The three test series between England and New Zealand is heading to a dramatic decider, after The Kiwis levelled the series with a 9-2 win at the Olympic Stadium on Saturday.

The deciding game, which will be held in Wigan this coming weekend, is already sold out, and the stage is set for an atmospheric climax to the Autumn tests as the final fixture heads back to the sport’s heartlands.

Those in attendance at London witnessed a low scoring game as England struggled in attack as much as they excelled in defence.

New Zealand spent much of the first quarter of the game in England’s half, trying to break down a stubborn defence as the “wall of white” marketing slogan became an accurate description of the home side’s defensive line.

Some heroic goal-line defence from the likes of Chris Hill and James Graham kept The Kiwi attack out, meaning the scoreboard remained at 2-2 thanks to early penalties from Gareth Widdop and Isaac Luke.

The first and only try of the game came just after half-time, when Tohu Harris somehow stooped to catch Kodi Nikorima’s offload as it fell to ground, before passing to Shaun Kenny-Dowall who scored in the corner.

New Zealand coach Stephan Kearney praised Harris after the game.

“One fella I want to give a big rap to is Tohu Harris. I thought his effort today was pretty special. He played 80 minutes on the right edge, left edge, through the middle.”

“I’m proud of the effort,” Kearney added. “It was a good old-fashioned Test match. We had a hard look at ourselves earlier in the week and they responded magnificently.”

England defended solidly throughout, with Brett Ferres putting in a great effort to prevent Peta Hiku from grounding the ball over the line for a second New Zealand try, but the hosts lacked invention in their attacking play.

The amount of effort used on the defensive side of the game, and a poor kicking game, meant that England were often going through the motions in attack.

Despite this, Steve McNamara is confident going into Saturday’s decider.

“I thought we played half the game well today — the defensive part — but the problem is we did too much of it and it took too much out of us,” said the England coach.

“I’m very confident we can go to the DW Stadium and get the job done.”