Forbes, so often a rock for the New Zealanders, missed the semi and final tonight due to a foot problem, which limited his lateral movement.
In his absence a collection of other seasoned players stood up and led the way as New Zealand jumped to second on the overall world series standings behind South Africa.
New Zealand, who beat South Africa 17-7 in the semifinals, opened the scoring early in the final as they registered tries to Dylan Collier and Rieko Ioane.
The home side looked like they might make light work of the English, who got to showpiece game as they tipped over Scotland 24-19, but the game changed when Joe Webber was sent to the sin bin.
With Webber in the bin, England got on the board through the dangerous Marcus Watson and it was game on again.
But Webber redeemed himself in stunning fashion as he returned to the field after his brief hiatus and put in a perfectly-placed kick for 17-year-old Rieko Ioane who scored to give New Zealand a 15-7 halftime lead.
Defence has been a hallmark of New Zealand's performance this weekend and the likes of Webber and Scott Curry have been at the heart of the action with reliable tackling.
Curry then got a try himself as the Mexican Wave erupted around an undersized but vocal Westpac Stadium crowd.
Ioane, a player who needed a dispensation to play at the tournament due to his tender years, completed his brace and with the score at 27-7, the party hit full swing. England scored a couple of late tries but it didn't help.
New Zealand 27 (Rieko Ioane 2, Dylan Collier, Gillies Kaka, Scott Curry tries; Beaudein Waaka con) England 21 (Marcus Watson, Tom Mitchell, John Brake tries; Christian Lewis-Pratt 3 con) halftime: 15-7
NZME.
