Small signs of progress have been shown by England this November but Borthwick is under pressure after five consecutive defeats

England head coach Steve Borthwick has claimed that his players were not fit enough coming into the Autumn Nation Series despite the Rugby Football Union spending £264 million to give him greater control of their conditioning.

Freddie Steward insists the players and not Steve Borthwick are at fault for the autumn washout that has piled pressure on England’s head coach. Steward believes Borthwick has been “let down” by his team after South Africa clinched a 29-20 victory on Saturday,

Here is an evaluation of where England stand.Reasons to be hopefulMarcus Smith seizes his chanceHaving come off on the hour mark of the first game against New Zealand before being moved to full-back for the last quarter of the Wallabies loss,