Rugby
‘Too many errors’ – Borthwick laments ‘terribly frustrating and ….’ defeat to Springboks
Pressure is mounting on Steve Borthwick after his England side lost a third straight Autumn Nations series match after falling to a 29-20 defeat against South Africa at Allianz Stadium on Saturday. England had long spells of possession but could not turn their dominance into tries, and again succumbed to a narrow loss. The defeat was their fifth in a row.
Steve Borthwick said England’s loss to South Africa was “terribly frustrating” as the Red Roses fell to another narrow defeat in the Autumn Nations Series.
The 29-20 defeat against the Springboks was another setback for England’s head coach, who has seen a lack of composure in vital moments serving as a consistent theme across the last five games.
With losses to New Zealand and Australia preceding the Springboks defeat, Borthwick is under mounting pressure to turn things around.
“It’s terribly frustrating for all of us,” he told TNT Sports after the game. “Every England fan will be terribly frustrated about this. We’re desperate to get over the line. You see a lot of good stuff being done but then, unfortunately, we’re making too many errors. That’s then allowing the opposition to get up on the scoreboard late in the game.
“I think that obviously, it’s important to credit South Africa. They are an incredibly well-coached, well-organised team, double world champions. All the experience they have, so credit them and for a large part of that game we went toe to toe with them but fell short in the end.”
The same careless mistakes that proved costly against the All Blacks and Wallabies clashes once again featured at Twickenham.
England spent a large part of the second half camped in Springboks territory but failed to take advantage, even when Gerhard Steenekamp was sent to the sidelines with a yellow card.
“Ultimately, I think as you look at that game, the number of errors, 22 in the final 15 minutes,” Borthwick added. “We had enough time to score and win the game but turned the ball over, which was really, really disappointing. Each one was a slightly different error as well. I didn’t see too many patterns within it.
“But we will have to have a good close look at that and have a good discussion with the players about what they’re thinking and feeling during that period.
“This is a very top level of world rugby. We’re going against an incredibly experienced team, and we’ve got to develop that ability to close out games and finish them off, and we didn’t today.”
As has become customary in a match between England and South Africa, it was punctuated by moments of magic from Cheslin Kolbe and Handre Pollard.
“For a long period we went toe-to-toe with arguably the best team in the world and you look at the way the team came out of the blocks at the start of the game and wanted to take it to them and I think the players deserve credit for that,” Borthwick said.
“We’re quite clearly going through some painful experiences, we’re going through some development days here where we are not getting quite what we wanted. We’ll keep working on it and make sure we’re where we need to be.”
/origin-imgresizer.eurosport.com/2024/11/16/4062488-82387408-2560-1440.jpg)
George ‘couldn’t be more confident’ in England’s future despite five successive Test defeats
England face Japan next in the Autumn Nations Series and the expectation will be a win. But the axe of judgement will truly swing on Borthwick in next year’s Six Nations, now just a few months away.
Borthwick insisted the only focus is on the next match as England aim to finish the campaign with a statement win.
“There is Japan next week and that will be our sole focus next Sunday, back here at Allianz Stadium,” he said. “The overriding feeling is one of disappointment and frustration right now. I think even in these difficult times, the players are gaining experiences that will be invaluable for the future.
“Clearly this is a team that’s transitioned a lot this year. There’s a lot of senior leaders that left the team post-World Cup, and we’re growing a lot of new players within this team. Whilst there’s elements that I think are really positive, ultimately we’ve got to get across the line.”
