Kiwis coach Michael Maguire says his players are "hurting" after their 20-14 defeat to England in Liverpool on Monday (NZ time).
New Zealand held a 14-6 lead midway through the second half, only to concede three late tries, as England took a 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
England ran in four tries to two, with winger Tommy Makinson scoring a hat-trick and Jake Connor crossing for the hosts, while Dallin Watene-Zelezniak and Ken Maumalo crossed for the Kiwis.
The win means England retain at the Baskerville Shield.
The Kiwis were let down with by poor discipline, as they made seven second-half errors, six of which were inside their own half. New Zealand finished with 69 percent completion rate, compared to England's 84 percent.
"The boys have had to learn some pretty harsh lessons over the last two games about what test football is all about," said Maguire.
"We conceded a try before half-time again and in the second half, made seven errors, whereas England were very clinical.
"That's the difference in test match footy. You've got the best of each country playing, you need to understand that each play is so important.
"Those are the lessons our players are learning at the moment. If you don't put yourself back down that area of the park, you are not going to give yourself a chance and we didn't do that in the second half.
"England have been performing like that for quite some time. They have a very simple game plan - they complete high and they stay there for the 80 minutes.
"It's something we need to pick up on."
All four of England's tries were scored down the wing of Jordan Rapana, who was struggling with a shoulder injury.
He first hurt his shoulder attempting to score a try in the first half and was finally taken off the field in the 70th minute in extreme pain, forcing a back-line reshuffle.
England then exposed the shuffled back-line as Makinson scored his third try, which ended up being the match-winner.
Maguire was unsure of the extent of Rapana's injury, but suggested changes could be made to the line-up for the dead-rubber third test.
"I'll have a look and assess the video," he said. "I've got some quality kids sitting on the sidelines.
"We'll see how Rap's shoulder is and go from there. It's obviously tough to take when you are in the position we're in, but it will define us as a group as well."
The third test is scheduled for Monday, November 11 at Headingley Stadium in Leeds.
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