The match saw the Red Roses reduced to anguish, amongst a never-before-seen crowd of 42,579 fans, as their envied 31 Test winning streak concluded with a phantom taste of gold on their gum shields.
England roared to a 14-0 lead in just 13 minute as fullback Ellie Kildunne and hooker Amy Cokayne scored successive tries, while New Zealand's attack was wracked with nerves with fumbled turn overs and fullback Renee Holmes missing her kick.
Minutes later Waikato winger Portia Woodman broke free down the wing, sights set on the goal line, before England's Lydia Thompson engaged in a dangerous head-on-head tackle in a pivotal match moment cited over an hour later as England's ultimate downfall.
One red card and an injury stoppage later, and England were left with just 14 players against the Black Ferns's renewed 15-strong squad with replacement winger Ayesha Leti-I’iga.
From there on in, New Zealand fired up their offensive.
An immediate try came from Holmes in the same 18th minute of matchplay as the red card announcement to see a 14-7 comeback, soon followed by Leti-I’iga's try to bring the Ferns's scoreboard up to 19-14.
Despite finding themselves a man down, the Red Roses retained the advantage with a 26-19 half-time score and notably gritty defence.
The second half brought an even fiercer rivalry to the pitch.
With wonder feats like Cokayne's 55th minute hat-trick giving England a two-point edge and relentless drives from Kiwi midfield back Stacey Fluhler.
Eventually, the numbers were equalised as New Zealand's loose forward Kennedy Simon walked off with a yellow card, giving both teams 14 players with just 15 minutes of game time left.
England still tightly gripped their two-point lead up until Leti-I’iga's second try that sealed their 31-34 loss. Despite subsequent England penalties, the Red Roses couldn't claw black those three crucial points.
From start to finish, the contest was filled with salt-streaked faces and exasperated breath as every athlete gave their absolute all for the golden cup.