England lock Maro Itoje has defended head coach Steve Borthwick and insists the nationwide facet remains to be on target.
The feedback come on the finish of a disappointing Autumn Nations Collection the place England misplaced three of their 4 Checks.
Southern hemisphere powerhouses New Zealand, South Africa and Australia all beat England at residence. Solely a large, and extensively anticipated, win over Japan noticed England handle to halt a run of 5 consecutive defeats.
This yr has seen England solely win 5 of 12 Checks with the staff rooted at seventh on the planet rankings.
However Itoje believes Borthwick has taken undue criticism.
“Obviously he’s the boss so naturally people take aim for him but I don’t think it was fair,” Itoje informed Sky Sports activities.
“Perhaps this is something, I guess, the public or the journalists can never fully appreciate because they’re not with us from day to day. The coaches set us up, they organise us, they worked incredibly hard to put us in the right position.”
He added: “I think as players we need to take more ownership. We need to execute under pressure. At times, especially in sport, whether it’s rugby, cricket, football, the blame always is assigned to the coaches where in reality that’s not always the case.
“I believe as gamers we now have a accountability to do our half.”
Itoje believes there’s a optimistic future for this England staff.
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Steve Borthwick confirmed his frustration with England’s current outcomes and mentioned what we needs to see from his facet
“I think we’ve learned a whole number of lessons throughout the campaign,” he mirrored.
“Twickenham was buzzing, the fans were amazing but unfortunately we fell a little bit short. That being said I still think there’s lots to look forward to, lots to be optimistic about.
“I believe we’re very shut. I do know a few of these tight losses are annoying for the followers and so they’re undoubtedly annoying for the gamers however I do suppose we’re constructing.”
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Luke Cowan-Dickie displays on England’s most up-to-date defeats and his comeback in rugby
Subsequent yr’s Six Nations championship although, which begins for England in opposition to Eire in Dublin on February 1, could possibly be defining for this staff.
“As players, as staff, as the whole set-up, we’re looking forward to it,” Itoje insisted.
“If anything this autumn series has fuelled the fire and made me even more excited about what we could potentially do.”
Watch each sport of the 2025 British and Irish Lions tour of Australia, together with all three Check matches in opposition to the Wallabies, completely dwell on Sky Sports activities.
