A defiant Steve Borthwick insists the England side are still on the rise despite another day of despair at Twickenham.
Borthwick’s crew lost 24-22 to New Zealand with George Ford missing a penalty and scoring a drop goal to win the game.
This is the third game they have failed to get the job done against the Kiwis after two slip-ups in the summer.
But Borthwick insisted England were improving and things could only get better on the scoreboard.
The director said: “They had 10 players in the World Cup final, with 15 more appearances than 23. “We didn’t get the win we wanted, but everyone can see that this team is developing into a very strong team.
“But New Zealand are a good team and since we last played together they have played seven Test matches and been together for three months.”
England led 22-14 at the hour before going into a two-point deficit and falling short. In March, there was a 23-22 win over Ireland. Because it was the only game of the year, it was a tight match against a top four team.
Borthwick added: “When we’re in a position to win at the time, we definitely have a chance to win the game.
“It’s very clear why we didn’t play against a very good New Zealand team. We gave them a chance to come back and they did.”
All Black Scott Barrett breathed a sigh of relief at the end of the game while Borthwick was staring at his laptop in the coaches’ box in disbelief.
Barrett said: “They had every chance to win. If you go back to the last series, there were three tight encounters and they had opportunities to come out ahead by their noses.
“They are a dangerous team but we may have played a little more rugby than them. We were satisfied with our efforts.”
England now have to prepare for their visit to Australia next week and the world champions a week later.
