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.

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

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,

Steve Borthwick insists that he retains the full backing of the Rugby Football Union despite England slumping to a fifth successive loss for the first time since 2018 after South Africa triumphed 29-20 at Twickenham.

England have now lost five in a row after the defeat to South Africa on Saturday and the RFU are facing calls for Steve Borthwick to be sacked.

England coach Steve Borthwick said that the yet another painful defeat, this time 29-20 to South Africa on Saturday to continue their miserable Autumn series, will help his team in the long run as they continue their development.

The Rugby Football Union insist the former England captain retains its “100 per cent support” ahead of the side’s first match against South Africa since the Springboks’ dramatic 16-15 World Cup semi-final win in 2023.

The diagnosis of England’s malaise should not require a torturous debrief. They are, to be blunt, mentally weak, so terrified of their own shadows in the closing stages of the toughest Tests that they cannot even conjure inspiration against 14 men.