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.

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.

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.

Time has come for head coach to trust his own instincts and show there is more to game than kicking and ‘Moneyball’

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,

Several promising but emerging players would surely benefit from greater experience on the England coaching team

The only remaining hope for England’s autumn is a win over Japan that would not alter the awkward truth; that it is difficult to see where the team has progressed over a difficult month. Compiling a report card is not easy,

Steve Borthwick is safe for now – but history shows a cautionary tale for underperforming England - Small signs of progress have been shown by England this November but Borthwick is under pressure aft

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.