Steve Borthwick answers the question every England fan is asking

England delivered a performance against France in the final match of the Guinness Six Nations that had not been apparent all Championship, losing at the death 48-46.

The visitors were given little to no chance by many heading into the match at the Stade de France, and many viewed Le Crunch as a case of damage limitations at the end of a Championship where they had only won one match.

Instead, they put in a display that had them in the lead until the final second of the match, where a long-range Thomas Ramos penalty delivered France the title.

While it was still a poor Championship from an England side that were third in the world heading into the tournament, there were plenty of positive signs in that final display.

However, the burning question that every England fan will be asking is where was that performance all Championship? That question was levelled at England boss Steve Borthwick after the match.

The England boss said that the performance was a product of the team having longer in camp, but nevertheless admitted that they are “hurting”.

“Each and every game is different,” he said. “I think what you see from this Six Nations Championship is there are a lot of very good teams. A lot of tussles. The nature of it has been huge ebbs and flows from week to week, and you can look at results today, just demonstrating that. I think clearly what you do see is that as the team spends more time in camp together, the team significantly improves.

“So, we finished the tournament, I’m really proud of how the players play today, really disappoint for the players. But ultimately, we’re gutted that we went into the tournament with such high expectations and aspirations, and we’ve not been able to meet those targets.”

Another defeat will mean questions will still linger over Borthwick’s job, but he was forthright in saying “I believe I’m the right man to lead the team forward” regardless of the result in Paris.