New Zealand thrashed England 57-36 to level the series at 1-1 and take the Taini Jamison Trophy to a decider.
The Roses, who narrowly won Sunday’s opening game, trailed by four at half-time before a dominant second-half display by the world’s number two ranked side saw them pull well clear.
The series will be decided on 30 September in Hamilton.
“We didn’t come out strong enough,” said England captain Sophie Drakefield-Lewis on Sky Sports.
“I think we knew that the Ferns were going to come out hard after the result of the first Test and we didn’t really respond to that.”
Despite New Zealand taking a 10-goal lead in the first quarter, England’s quick five-goal run managed to close the gap to just four going into half-time, but the dominant Ferns scored 18 goals in the final quarter.
The Roses squad, which features no players from the team that finished as runners-up in the World Cup, is being led by technical coach Liana Leota.
Head coach Jess Thirlby is present for the series but is playing a peripheral role in support of Leota.
