England's 45-21 defeat to South Africa at Ellis Park on Saturday was their fifth successive Test loss, leaving the Steve Borthwick project under renewed pressure and mounting scrutiny. The Springboks, missing captain Siya Kolisi, fly-half Handre Pollard, several second-row forwards, and key front-row bench options, still dominated from the outset, going 17-0 up inside the first 12 minutes. England's fly-half Fin Smith admitted: "For us to start as poorly as we did was frustrating. I thought we were soft defensively, missed a lot of tackles and ultimately they scored quickly when they got into our 22."
Discipline and deja vu
England's ill discipline continued with late yellow cards to Tommy Freeman and Guy Pepper, taking their tally to 10 this year. Smith referenced the recurring issue: "It is hard not to think that has happened a few times in the past couple of months." The defeat follows a fifth-place finish in the Six Nations, and senior RFU officials who backed Borthwick to rebound are now praying Fiji do not start strongly at Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday.
Coaching concerns
Questions are being asked about England's coaching setup. Felix Jones left England to rejoin South Africa's brains trust, and analyst Joe Lewis switched camps, taking inside knowledge. South Africa's attack has improved under Tony Brown, while Rassie Erasmus's recruitment adds talent. England, by contrast, have a relatively inexperienced coaching roster and a head coach more comfortable with data than human chemistry. Borthwick's record against the three biggest southern hemisphere sides since taking over from Eddie Jones at the end of 2022 shows six defeats in eight attempts, with the two victories coming at home against a tired Australia and a disaffected New Zealand.
Uncertainty and World Cup hopes
England's best back-row and midfield combinations remain unclear, with Benhard Janse van Rensburg becoming eligible this week. Several French-based gamechangers are off-limits due to RFU red tape, and the deal with Premiership clubs for greater control over top players has yet to bear fruit. Public faith is ebbing away. The gripping 48-46 defeat to France in Paris in March looks increasingly like an outlier. England's previous 12-Test unbeaten sequence has evaporated, and in-form club players are not thriving in the current system. There remains a chance of beating Fiji and Argentina to stem the bleeding, but the nagging truth is that a triumphant World Cup campaign seems less likely than when the squad arrived in Johannesburg 10 days earlier.
