England urged to 'step up' and end late agony

Tom Curry believes England players must step up and shoulder the responsibility for their late collapses, insisting there can be no excuses as Steve Borthwick's side seek to return to winning ways against Australia.

- Gerard Meagher

England have lost their last three Tests - all against New Zealand - after putting themselves into winning positions, only to succumb to late defeats. Their final match of the Six Nations against France was a similar story and as a result England head into Saturday's clash with the Wallabies with a record of just four wins from their nine Tests in 2024.

Last Saturday, England were eight points to the good heading into the final quarter but their efforts to close out the match came back to haunt them. Borthwick has come in for criticism for the timing of his replacements, in particular taking Marcus Smith and Ben Spencer off with England in the ascendancy, but Curry is adamant the buck stops with the players.