LONDON :A year ago, having lost to South Africa in a miserable autumn to stretch their losing run to five matches, England coach Steve Borthwick kept his chin up and pleaded with disgruntled fans not to panic and to keep the faith.

He pointed out that the five losses had come against top-level opposition - three to New Zealand and once each to Australia and the Springboks - and that they had been mostly narrow defeats during a period of development.

"This year has been one of transitioning a lot of young players into this England team, which I think have an incredibly exciting future and it's also transitioning the way we're trying to play," Borthwick said at the time having overseen seven defeats in 11 games.

"You can see when the team moves the ball, you see the talent and pace that w

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