Bennett eyes next England opponents after series win

England coach Wayne Bennett hopes the RLIF "stand up for the game" when discussing the next steps of international rugby league next week following England's 20-14 series-winning clash against New Zealand at Anfield on Sunday.

England rallied with three tries in the final quarter of the clash to clinch a 2-0 series result over the Kiwis with one game left to play at Elland Road in Leeds on November 11.

The discussion of where to next for England was raised following the six-point win with Bennett confident the side will play in end-of-season Test matches next year.

The British and Irish Lions will tour the southern hemisphere in 2019 but England will remain separated from the original merge with their short-term international calendar up in the air.

New Zealand will tour the UK again following the 2021 World Cup.

Australia proposed a tour of the UK in 2019, which is now pencilled in for 2020.

"Australia can do what they want to do," Bennett said.

"We'll be in that part of the world next year. We'll be playing Test matches. It may not be against Australia, it will be over there somewhere. I'm very confident about that."

Bennett has been full of praise around the growth of international rugby league this year and hoped the RLIF's future proposals were designed to suit all supporters of the game.

"Tonga's done some wonderful things," Bennett said.

"We've got to keep building on it now, try and get the politics out of it. The players have given so much to it. It's not that the players don't want to play.

"It's [been] a great series. I just hope they have a strong meeting and stand up for the game and give us products you all want to see. International football played by the very best."

England wrapped up the series against the Kiwis the same way it started, with a come-from-behind effort at Anfield.

Bennett said the side had taken the next step and have gone from a "50-60 minute" side to one that plays for the entire 80 minutes.

"When I started the job that's what they did but they're not doing that now," Bennett said.

"They've won the last two games and we won against Tonga last year. We had Australia on the rack and lost in one moment last year.

"[It's about] self-belief and sticking to what works for you, not going away from it. New Zealand got in trouble today, they made too many errors late in the game to give themselves opportunity."