England take on New Zealand on Wednesday, looking to keep alive the three-game Cadbury Series after defeat in the opener on Monday.
After a return to international netball for the first time in almost 12 months, there was lots to be impressed about as England rallied to draw level with the world champions in the final quarter.
However a New Zealand team, who had only three full days preparation as a squad due to travel restrictions in the country, managed to reset and eventually secure a 48-42 victory.
England head coach Jess Thirlby was quick to praise her team for their efforts, but in the post-match interview admitted there is work to do.
"I thought we were caught chasing the game a little bit, but what was really pleasing is we were able to fight back in the second half, both physically and mentally which I thought was great given they threw some of their big guns out in the second half," Thirlby said.
"I thought we competed well and we pushed them right to the end. The wheels fell off just a little bit in that last couple of minutes, but players that came off the bench - they had a really positive impact.
"In long periods I felt defensively we were able to tie them up, I didn't think it was necessarily a comfortable game for the Silver Ferns, but ultimately we need to tidy up our possession game. We can't give them too much ball and then not capitalise off it.
"[What is the key for Wednesday?] Possession. We're not going to be able to give away that much ball in game two.
"Both teams I'm sure will fatigue across these matches, given the lead-in both teams have had, so really important that we can make those interchanges positively off the bench, but also we're going to have to start the game stronger, we cannot afford to chase."
Whether any changes are made remains to be seen. George Fisher missed just one of her 23 shots at goal and linked up well with Eleanor Cardwell, while Imogen Allison made a huge impression when coming on from the bench.
Fran Williams is another defensive option who will hope to get a chance to impress - but Thirlby must decide whether to stick or rotate as she looks to finalise preparations for the Commonwealth Games in July.
As well as the trip to New Zealand, England are due to travel to Australia for a three-game series but games will be few and far between as Thirlby looks to nail down her best starting seven and impact substitutes.
Captain's verdict
View from the world champions
With all that in mind, Sky Sports expert and Scotland Thistles Head Coach Tamsin Greenway has three areas for the Roses to target as they aim to level the series.
What a First Test from both sides, plenty of positives for both to take away after a long time without international netball.
I really enjoyed watch England, but there are a few things they'll look to improve on and in particular tidy up as they head into the Second Test on Wednesday
Bring the penalty count down
Looking back on Monday, this is crucial for the Roses who double the amount (62-31) - it's absolutely key, especially in the Silver Ferns shooting circle.
England got pulled up by the umpires far too much and ended up letting the Kiwis off the hook - and it came when I thought the Roses had them under pressure.
Now they've experienced the brand new pairing of Maia Wilson and debutant Tiana Metuarau, and more importantly the body, they will need to find ways to get off the holds and screens and win much cleaner ball.
It might be a good opportunity to see what someone like Fran Williams can do as she is more comfortable defending the space.
Final feed
The majority of the Roses errors in the attacking third came from the final feed and not recognising the recovery of defenders like Kelly Dury who are so rangy. However they were also not spotting the off-marker who was ably to continually come through and have a crack at winning ball.
Changing the timing and touch of release will help, as well as feeders understanding where they can place ball - which leads me onto my final point…
Attacking bench
I felt the England bench (Allison, Williams, Clarke, Joseph, Fisher) was very defence heavy. It would be nice to see injection into that WA/GA position, from a freshness point of view but also to give the Silver Ferns something different to think about.
I felt England played wide, understood where they wanted to keep ball, but when it came to breaking the zone down, what we really needed was a bit more creativity and an extra attacking option on the bench would give Jess [Thirlby] that.
Watch live coverage on Sky Sports Arena, Mix and YouTube channel of England's series in New Zealand as Jess Thirlby's squad continue preparations for the defence of their Commonwealth Games gold medal in Birmingham in 2022