The failings are becoming all too familiar for England — having seized control of the contest after half time, the final quarter arrives and victory slips from their grasp. In each of their three recent Tests against New Zealand, Steve Borthwick’s side have led the All Blacks after the interval and come out on the losing side on 80 minutes.
The circumstances of each has been slightly different and George Ford was the width of a post away from snatching victory at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham on Saturday, but it has become a concerning trend. The good news for Borthwick is that his side have played well in each of their last six games; the bad news is that England have won just two of them. If the hope is that regression to the mean will ensure they come out on the right side of a close game soon enough, the fear is that any dip in their level, perfectly natural in elite sport, will mean that they will no longer be able to stay in the fight to set up match-winning opportunities.
