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.

England coach Steve Borthwick has warned rugby union's powerbrokers he fears the sport is becoming more like Australian Rules Football after the recent law directives from World Rugby.

England head coach Steve Borthwick is confident he has the backing of the Rugby Football Union despite presiding over a fifth successive defeat after South Africa triumphed 29-20 at Allianz Stadium. Cheslin Kolbe’s 62nd-minute try placed the Springboks in a commanding position and even when replacement prop Gerhard Steenekamp was sent to the sin-bin England could not break through,

England are playing to avoid a fifth successive defeat when they host the all-conquering back-to-back world champions.

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,

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.

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