England coach Steve Borthwick insisted he was working with a “group of talented players” after a 30-22 defeat by Fiji cast a fresh cloud over his squad’s hopes at the upcoming Rugby World Cup.

Saturday’s reverse at Twickenham was the first time England had lost to the Pacific islanders in eight Tests and also represented their maiden defeat by a current tier-two nation.

England’s woeful end to their warm-up campaign means they have now won just three games out of nine since Borthwick replaced the sacked Eddie Jones in December.

Many pundits felt Borthwick had been on the receiving end of a ‘hospital pass’ from England’s Rugby Football Union given the outspoken Jones’s proven track record in tournament rugby, with the veteran Australian coach taking England all the way to a 2019 World Cup final defeat by South Africa in Japan.

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