The experience was not new but the familiarity did little to numb the pain as England headed back to the drawing board yet again after crashing out of the rugby league World Cup.

Some 36 years after they last won the tournament, the fact that England remain light years behind the southern hemisphere nations was inescapable after a revealing semi-final defeat. All the claims of rising standards in Super League were exposed as hollow boasts and the no-expense-spared policy behind England’s preparation shown to be profligate. New Zealand, buoyed by the players who missed last year’s 3-0 Test series defeat in Britain, exacted revenge in style.

That Super League remains inherently more entertaining to watch than Australia’s National Rugby League (NRL) is undeniable. But for Thomas Leuluai, the Wigan half-back, all the Kiwis are schooled in the intensive, defence-dominated NRL and though New Zealand’s performance was far from a classic, England rarely looked to have the technical ability to reach next week’s final.

Just as Australia’s players had been two weeks earlier, the New Zealanders were fitter, faster, stronger and possessed of more determination than an England side that has rarely underperformed so spectacularly. As ordinary, and in some cases awful, as many England players were in Brisbane, and throughout the World Cup, the concern on the faces of coach Tony Smith and his boss, Richard Lewis, the Rugby Football League’s (RFL) executive chairman, ran deeper. The gap between the two continents had been closing throughout the 1990s but this year, as with the Tri-Nations in 2006, the signs are Super League and the NRL are going in different directions.

One key issue the sport needs to address is the different rules applied in England and Australia to the area that largely defines rugby league: the play-the-ball. The reason Super League has more entertainment value is that players in England are expected to release a tackled player as quickly as possible, which makes for fast and furious action. In the NRL, defences are given more freedom to wrestle the player in possession to the ground and hold him there until the defensive line is set.

England struggled to adapt to the Australian style of play throughout the World Cup and found themselves penalised and forced to play at a pace set by the opposition. The dilemma facing Super League clubs and the RFL is whether to continue developing the style that has seen attendances and sponsorship increase, or jeopardise that by playing to Australian rules.

One of the few certainties to emerge is that the coach who directed England into their current desperate state will be charged with drawing up a rescue package. As well as being national coach, Smith is the RFL’s technical director, and Lewis was at pains yesterday to stress that neither position is under threat. “Tony has a huge role to play in the debrief and review of what happened, and in setting the record straight when we stage the Four Nations in the northern hemisphere in 2009,” he said.

While Smith must shoulder some responsibility – England’s tactics were found wanting against New Zealand, Australia and Papua New Guinea – it would be wrong to lay the blame entirely at his feet. Some of his selections backfired – most notably Paul Sykes against New Zealand last week – but too many stars failed to bring their A game here.

Leon Pryce, the St Helens stand-off, was as ineffectual throughout the past month as he had been in the Super League grand final, while two clubmates, fullback Paul Wellens and winger Ade Gardner, looked hopelessly out of their depth yesterday. The pair were at fault for all three Kiwi second-half tries, with their lassitude in defence undermining the germ of an England come-back that saw them close to within six points on three occasions.

Wellens was plagued by a bout of dropsy during the first half, as were the rest of the England team, who could probably not believe their luck when they reached the interval trailing 16-10. Inspired by a monster effort from forwards Jamie Peacock, James Graham and Adrian Morley, they hauled themselves back after falling 16-0 down to tries by Sam Perrett, Lance Hoahaia and Jerome Ropati. Peacock led the fightback by burrowing over with a fine run and in the penultimate minute of the half Danny McGuire grabbed the try of the match by racing through to regather a deep kick at a scrum on halfway by Rob Purdham.

McGuire added a second after the resumption when Martin Gleeson also powered over, but for all their promise, England failed to deliver due to the defensive frailty of Gardner and Wellens and the astute tactical kicking of Nathan Fien, who set up tries for Bronson Harrison, Ropati and Benji Marshall.

“We’re shattered because we wanted to do well and we haven’t. I don’t think we have produced what we are capable of, and that’s disappointing,” said Smith, who confirmed he was staying on. “We’ll assess it as we always do and look where we need to improve.”

Star man:Nathan Fien (New Zealand)

England: P Wellens; A Gardner, M Gleeson, K Senior, M Cal-derwood; D McGuire, R Burrow; J Graham, J Roby, J Peacock (capt), B Westwood, G Ellis, R Purdham

New Zealand: L Hohaia; S Perrett, S Mannering, J Ropati, M Vatuvei; B Marshall, N Fien; N Cayless (capt), T Leuluai, ABlair, B Harrison, D Fa’alogo, J Smith

Scorers: England: Tries: McGuire 39min, 73min, Peacock 29min, Gleeson 61min Cons: Burrow (3) New Zealand: Tries: Perrett 10min, Hohaia 19min, Ropati 22min, 68min, Harrison 57min, Marshall 78minCons:Smith (3), Marshall

Referee:S Hayne (Australia) Attendance:26,659