‘Samoa will smell blood now’

AUTUMN INTERNATIONAL:

During the Six Nations it seemed they were being carried on the crest of a wave that could take them all the way to the World Cup. A positive summer followed by an impressive autumn, so the theory went, and they would be right in the mix come the tournament next year.

It hasn’t quite worked out that way. Two three-point defeats to New Zealand and South Africa, following on from three successive losses to the all Blacks during the summer tour, is nothing to be embarrassed about. But late tries have skewed both results, with England never in with a chance of winning either game approaching the latter stages.