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

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.

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,

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 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.