Silver Ferns hold off England in tense decider to retain Taini ...

At Globox Arena, Hamilton: Silver Ferns 59 (Amelia Walmsley: 40/44, Ameliaranne Ekenasio: 19/23) England 52 (Sasha Glasgow: 26/29, Berri Neil: 26/32) 1Q: 12-14, HT: 27-24, 3Q: 41-39.

The Silver Ferns have saved Netball New Zealand’s blushes.

New Zealand retained the Taini Jamison Trophy in Hamilton on Saturday night, holding off a plucky England side 59-52.

England set up a fascinating series after their inexperienced side stunned the Ferns in Sunday’s opener in Christchurch. The Roses didn’t have any of their main 12 player squad from the Netball World Cup with those players on rest programmes and Geva Mentor and Chelsea Pitman retired.

There were verbal fireworks prior to the series when NNZ boss Jennie Wyllie labelled England Netball’s decision to rest their top players as “disrespectful” and not fit for television.

It looked like it might come back to bite Wyllie after Sunday’s embarrassing showing, but the Ferns closed out the series with two wins.

The Silver Ferns were made to work hard in Saturday’s decider, only pulling away from the Roses late in the contest.

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England's Sasha Glasgow puts up a goal against the Silver Ferns in Hamilton.

This England squad was better than those at NNZ first thought, benefiting from eight weeks together in a centralised programme. England’s Netball Super League has made huge inroads in recent years too and is a strong competition.

Wyllie was able to avoid a dose of humble pie with the Ferns recovering from the Christchurch horror show to win the final two tests.

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Mila Reuelu-Buchanan surveys her options against England in Hamilton on Saturday.

It was anyone’s game approaching the final quarter in Hamilton with the Ferns clinging to a two-goal lead (41-39).

With the pressure on and England sniffing an upset series victory, Dame Noeline Taurua’s side stood tall.

“Happy to keep Taini Jamison Trophy at home. Really happy by the progression that has been made and obviously the win,” Taurua told Sky Sport.

“I was really happy by the time we got to the end of the game, especially our attack end. I thought there was moments where they just let that ball go, but they also worked really hard to get to the circle edge that midcourt, so I was really pleased with that.”

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England's Berri Neil was a standout in the third test in Hamilton on Saturday.

For the second consecutive match, Taurua stuck with the same seven all game, rewarding those players and not making any changes.

Nineteen-year-old goal shoot Amelia Walmsley was immense again for the Ferns in just her second test.

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Silver Ferns centre Maddy Gordon looks to send the ball up court against England.

Walmsley calmly landed 40 goals from 44 attempts, while also pulling in two rebounds. She teamed up effectively with skipper Ameliaranne Ekenasio, who converted 19 from 23 – stepping up her play after a forgettable Netball World Cup.

Star goal shoot Grace Nweke will likely return for October’s Constellation Cup against Australia, if healthy, from her knee injury, which ruled her out of the World Cup.

Walmsley’s confident play will have given Taurua food for thought in the shooting end, though. Her pleasing performances has likely seen her overtake Maia Wilson in the goal shoot pecking order behind Nweke.

The Ferns weren't as clinical as Wednesday's crushing 57-36 win over the Roses, but they stepped up when they needed to.

They were able to convert 11 of the 15 defensive turnovers they picked up for goals, which proved crucial in the final outcome.

Defensively, they stepped up their play early in the final quarter. Several defensive gains swung the match the Ferns’ way as they started to pull away on the scoreboard.

Taurua will be aware they’ll need to lift several levels with the Constellation Cup looming against Australia. The four-match series starts on October 12 in Melbourne.

Make the same mistakes they did in this series and the world champion Australian side will make them pay.

For now, the Ferns will reflect on a job well done in the final two tests.

Sunday's 55-54 loss in Christchurch was a miserable performance, but the side responded with their backs against the wall.

From that, they’ll take plenty of heart and know when they do put it together consistently, they can be a handful.