England have sealed a Test series win over New Zealand after Elliott Whitehead's two tries saw them snatch a hard-fought victory in the decisive game at the DW Stadium.

Steve McNamara's side, who lost 9-2 at the Olympic Stadium in the second Test after James Graham had a late try chalked off for a knock-on, took an early lead thanks to the boot of Gareth Widdop.

Jason Nightingale went over for the Kiwis on 17 minutes, but the full-back looked unconvinced that he had scored and his doubts were confirmed when replays showed that Peta Hiku had knocked the ball forward earlier in the attack.

Instead, it was the hosts who took the lead in testing conditions for ball handling as Whitehead seized on Matty Smith's grubber kick from scrum-half and dived over.

The former world champions hit back before half time, however, as Nightingale's spectacular dive beat the tackle of Zak Hardaker to touch down as New Zealand went in at the break 8-6 down.

After Stephen Kearney's side tried to apply concerted pressure, but failed to score after the interval, it was England who restored their eight-point advantage with Whitehead's second try of the afternoon.

McNamara's men looked to have secured the Baskerville Shield when captain Sean O'Loughlin powered through the Kiwi defensive line to score.

However, England were forced to withstand late pressure as both Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Jordan Kahu crossed over in the space of three minutes to set up a tight finish, although two missed conversions from Issac Luke proved crucial as the Lions held on.