Jamie George optimistic despite England defeat to South Africa in Autumn Nations Series - ‘Couldn’t be more confident’

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England fell to a 29-20 defeat to South Africa at Allianz Stadium, marking a third straight Autumn Nations Series loss for Steve Borthwick's side. England captain Jamie George insisted he "couldn't be more confident" as he attempted to breathe optimism into what has become a dismal end to the year for England, who have now lost five matches on the bounce.

George 'couldn't be more confident' in England's future despite five successive Test defeats

Video credit: TNT Sports

Jamie George said he "couldn't be more confident" about England's future despite a fifth loss in a row following defeat to South Africa at Twickenham.

The 29-20 defeat featured the familiar errors that have defined Steve Borthwick's England team in the Autumn Nations Series so far.

It came after England had unravelled in the last five minutes against New Zealand and Australia in their previous outings, and Borthwick is under increasing pressure after a run of narrow defeats.

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"It’s such a game of fine margins," England captain George told TNT Sports. "I think large parts of all the games in the last five we've looked good at times, but the final piece wasn't quite there.

"5% off, missed tackles, discipline. It's probably been a different cause over the last five games, but fundamentally I think we are close.

"We've just got to keep working hard and get our heads down, and things will go our way."

Highlights: South Africa pile misery on England by inflicting hosts' fifth straight Test loss

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If the pre-match fireworks and dazzling light show did not prove that England were up for the challenge, a try within three minutes from Ollie Sleightholme would have done the job. Marcus Smith shaped for a drop-goal but cut left to evade Eben Etzebeth and slipped a pass to Henry Slade, who put the ravenous Sleightholme over.

But it woke the Springboks up and basic mistakes began to appear from England. South Africa scrum-half Grant Williams, drafted into the team for his cutting attack at the fringe of the ruck, left Ellis Genge, George Martin, and Freddie Steward for dead to score.

A second try soon came when a blocker-less Jack van Poortvliet saw his box kick charged down by Etzebeth and Smith's clearing kick was subsequently blocked by Pieter-Steph du Toit, who chased it and scored.

"What I can guarantee is that we’re working very hard," George said. "We’re a very clever rugby team, we work hard behind the scenes to work out what we’re doing.

"Each team in this series has posed different threats. I think the way South Africa attacked our breakdown was ferocious at times, and we didn't adapt well enough. I’m not making excuses for that, we want to be winning these games. We want to make sure that we win games for all the fans who come to the Allianz Stadium and for all the fans at home.

"We know it’s not good enough. But I hope that they can see that there’s a lot of endeavour and fight in this team. I hope they can see that if they stick with us, there's a lot of great players here who can do some very good things."

'A tale of fast, fast South African feet!' - Kolbe scores again for South Africa

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While doom and gloom will be the primary summation of this autumn campaign for England, there have been plenty of positives in isolation.

Sleightholme will rival Immanuel Feyi-Waboso on the wings and Marcus Smith is stepping up as Owen Farrell's successor.

The second half featured a lengthy portion of England possession in the Springboks' 22 and if they can turn such dominance into tries they will be finding answers sooner rather than later.

George, too, is confident his side are on the right track even after such a poor run of results.

"I couldn't be more confident. The character of the people, not just the players but the staff. I think we have the right people and the right characters.

"I am very optimistic about the future of this team. You look at the likes of Freddie Steward and Sam Underhill, who have come into the team today off the back of not playing too much international rugby and put in performances like that. I think that's the sign of a good team."

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