Following the conclusion of the 2025 Autumn Nations Series, we update you on the state of the participating nations. Next up, it\u2019s Steve Borthwick\u2019s England.<\/p>\n
England came into this November campaign in high spirits after a much-improved Six Nations and later successful summer tour to the Americas, but this was a chance for them to prove a point against some Southern Hemisphere heavyweights.<\/p>\n
The Wallabies, Fiji, the All Blacks and Argentina all lay in wait for Borthwick\u2019s side, but they grew into the campaign as it went on and ended with a perfect record of four wins from four.<\/p>\n
These wins further highlight the growing sense of progress in the national side compared to this point last year, and they now seem to be edging back towards the top table of Test rugby once again.<\/p>\n
At the end of the year, England find themselves third in the World Rankings, with a big gap between them and Six Nations rivals Ireland, France, Scotland, Italy and Wales heading into next year\u2019s Championship. They are also closing the gap on the top two, with only 0.92 between them and the All Blacks in second.<\/p>\n
Autumn Nations Series summary<\/p>\n
Borthwick\u2019s side began their November campaign with a tough Test against the Wallabies, who also headed north off the back of a solid year of progress themselves after beating both the Springboks and British and Irish Lions.<\/p>\n
Keen to avoid a repeat of last year\u2019s dramatic defeat, England took the lead after 20 minutes thanks to George Ford\u2019s boot. Three quickly became 10, as Ben Earl raced home for his side\u2019s opening score. With the first-half drawing to a close, England came close to their second, but a clever interception from Harry Potter saw Australia hit back to make it 10-7 at the break.<\/p>\n
But, with England<\/a> deploying their Bomb Squad \u2013 soon to be called Pom Squad \u2013 they blew Australia away in the second-half with tries from Henry Pollock, Alex Mitchell and Luke Cowan-Dickie.<\/p>\n Fiji lay in wait in weekend two, with the Pacific Islanders looking for a repeat of their famous 2023 victory.<\/p>\n It was tit for tat in the opening exchanges, with Cowan-Dickie and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso crossing for England and Tevita Ikanivere and Caleb Muntz hitting back for Fiji, but the hosts held a slender 14-13 lead at the interval. That trend continued early into the second-half, with Ellis Genge and Ikanivere swapping scores, but the deployment of the Pom Squad again guided England home.<\/p>\n Jamie George, Henry Arundell and Maro Itoje were the heroes this time around, as England made it two from two.<\/p>\n The biggest challenge of the month was saved for weekend three, with the All Blacks in town.<\/p>\n Two early tries from Leicester Fainga\u2019anuku and Codie Taylor threatened to end the game before it had even properly started, but the hosts clawed their way back into it thanks to an Ollie Lawrence try and two Ford drop-goals.<\/p>\n Again, though, England sprang into life in the second-half, as Sam Underhill and Fraser Dingwall extended England\u2019s lead. The All Blacks hit back with a score from Will Jordan, but it proved mere consolation in the end as Tom Roebuck crossed to hand England a famous 33-19 victory, their 10th in a row.<\/p>\n Their fourth and final Test of the month saw England take on Argentina, fresh from a stunning comeback win over Scotland.<\/p>\n It all seemed plain sailing for the hosts in the first-half, as they took a 17-3 lead into the sheds thanks to a tries from Max Ojomoh and Feyi-Waboso and another Ford drop-goal, with only a Tomas Albornoz penalty denting the scoreboard for Los Pumas.<\/p>\n The game flipped on its head in the second-half, though, with Argentina buoyed by their own bench.<\/p>\n A Justo Piccardo try, alongside further kicks from Albornoz and Santi Carreras, saw Argentina make it 17-16 heading into the final quarter, before England struck with a Henry Slade try and a Ford penalty. It all seemed done and dusted, but Rodrigo Isgro\u2019s late score restored new life into Felipe Contepomi\u2019s side.<\/p>\n With the clock in the red, Los Pumas began marching towards the England try-line, eerily reminiscent of their win in Edinburgh a week previous, but a Charlie Ewels intervention at the lineout and eventual scoop up by Earl saw England hold onto a dramatic 27-23 win.<\/p>\n Standout players<\/p>\n Number eight seemed a troubled area ahead of the Autumn Nations Series, with Tom Willis headed to France, but Ben Earl\u00a0emphatically silenced that talk pretty quickly. The Saracens ace quickly became a focal point of England\u2019s pack this month, with his carrying making him their chief battering ram.\u00a0That impact told in his stats, too, making the most carries, metres and tackles of any forward across the entire series.<\/p>\n His back-row colleague Guy Pepper\u00a0also emerged out of the woodwork this series, going from the fringes of the wider squad to starting in all four Tests. The Bath back-rower burst onto the scene for Newcastle Falcons in 2023\/24, almost to the same level of Henry Pollock last year, but has since had to be patient when it came to England. He certainly looked the business during the summer tour, but this campaign saw him quickly cement his status as a Test starter.<\/p>\n Alex Coles\u00a0also grew into the series as it went along, improving with each Test. He has been dipped in and out of the match-day 23 in times gone by, but an injury to Ollie Chessum gifted him a continued role in the starting side this month, and he took it with both hands. This performance in particular will please Borthwick, with lock again being seen as an issue ahead of the series, with George Martin out and Ewels only returning in the final Test against Argentina.<\/p>\n Maro Itoje\u00a0also led England by example yet again, bringing a great year to an end in that respect. The Saracens man just seems to have taken his game to new heights since being given the armband, and his leadership was a key cornerstone behind England\u2019s success. He also seems to be getting more and more comfortable in the role, and is developing a really good game understanding as a result. Itoje\u2019s decisions and interactions with the referee all help his side, be it to capitalise on momentum, keep the scoreboard ticking over or even to take the sting out of a Test. It\u2019s an underrated skill, but it\u2019s so important for captains.<\/p>\n There was a major debate raging over the England number 10 jersey this November, but it seems\u00a0George Ford\u00a0has positioned himself at the top of the depth chart for good now. The Sale Sharks man\u2019s kicking game and ultimate control of the attack got his side playing some delicious rugby at times, but it has also set the blueprint for this new-look attack under Lee Blackett. This is also a far cry from this time last year, where he was thrown under a harsh spotlight following the November Tests.<\/p>\n Immanuel Feyi-Waboso\u00a0had a pretty tough time of it last autumn, too, but this year he has made himself one of the first names on the teamsheet. While a lot of the talk will be on the kicking game and the likes of Roebuck\u2019s and Freddie Steward\u2019s work in the air, Feyi-Waboso\u2019s carrying was such a potent weapon for England across the series. He just found himself marauding over the gainline with virtually every carry, while popping up in fresh spaces as well. England also used him slightly differently, waiting for space to open up in front of him before sending him through a gap, and that worked a treat. This is exactly why fans were clamouring to see him back in a white jersey after a horrific injury spell last year.<\/p>\n PREM latest: England international makes decision on future as Wales tourist lands short-term deal<\/a><\/p>\n Joe Marchant returns! Ranking England\u2019s midfield options as \u2018world-class\u2019 talent\u2019s PREM comeback creates a headache<\/a><\/p>\n Centre, and particularly inside centre, was also seen as a problem for England in the past, but the performances of both Fraser Dingwall\u00a0and Max Ojomoh show that is now an issue of the past. Dingwall just seemed to bring the best out of those around him, both with his own playmaking skills, and certainly ends the month with some credit. But, Ojomoh also offered something completely fresh for England, given he dropped a proper rockstar display against Argentina. This selection debate will only be a good thing for England moving forward, and also could be something Borthwick properly taps into, picking and choosing between them depending on the game. That is something that has worked so well for the Springboks, and now England have that sort of depth.<\/p>\n Stat leaders<\/p>\n Fly-half Ford\u2019s return to the starting XV also saw him end the campaign as England\u2019s top points scorer, notching 33 points in his three outings \u2013 averaging 11 per Test.<\/p>\n Cowan-Dickie\u00a0and\u00a0Feyi-Waboso\u00a0ended the campaign as joint top try-scorers, with the pair both notching two tries this month. Interestingly, they were two of 15 players to score a try for England this autumn, too, with Earl, Pollock, Mitchell, Genge, George, Arundell, Itoje, Lawrence, Underhill, Dingwall, Roebuck, Ojomoh and Slade also grabbing one try apiece.<\/p>\n Around that, Ojomoh\u00a0also found himself top of the assists charts across the series, grabbing two against Argentina. He was closely followed by eight players on one, with Pollock, Fin Baxter, Ford, Lawrence, Mitchell, Fin Smith, Underhill and Roebuck all notching an assist this month too.<\/p>\n As listed above, Earl led the way for carries (60), metres (185) and tackles (51) for forwards across the series, which is some doing considering the personnel who took to the field this month.<\/p>\n Success story<\/p>\n While the winning run is certainly a big thing to come out of the autumn for England, the development of the Pom Squad is arguably the success story of the month. Last year, England saw leads blown in the final exchanges far too often, against New Zealand and Australia in particular, but the Pom Squad have flipped that trend on its head.<\/p>\n This month, England were able to blow games open in those clutch moments and eventually run away victors. On average, Borthwick would deploy his bench on the 53rd minute this autumn, often rolling six on at a time, and in those final 27 minutes, England notched an aggregate score of 57-17 across the four Tests. To put that even more into perspective, nine of England\u2019s 17 tries came in that time too.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s clearly having an effect on the players, too, with full-back Steward telling reporters: \u201cYou look at the quality of the bench and the quality of the players coming on. When you look to your left and see the likes of Curry, Pollock, Gengey when he is on the bench running on the pitch, it gives you that extra boost.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve got Lions there coming on to try and win the game and that\u2019s been a massive part of our strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n England now seem to have their game built around the Pom Squad, but that in turn is also allowing others to get a real taste for life at Test level. In previous years, Baxter, Asher Opoku-Fordjour, and Coles would have likely been deployed from the bench, but this campaign saw them start in big Tests. That is invaluable experience to players who are still in the infancy of their Test careers, and it\u2019s something Borthwick<\/a> was particularly pleased with.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got players who have been in the Test arena more often,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve said that we need to develop depth, experience and time together in camp. The England team doesn\u2019t have a huge amount of time together; the southern hemisphere teams have been together for four months now, and we\u2019ve been together for four weeks.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we do is maximise every minute together. It\u2019s tracking well.\u201d<\/p>\n Main regret<\/p>\n Tongue in cheek take incoming, by the way.<\/p>\n Is it bad that England possibly\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0have a main regret out of this Autumn Nations Series campaign?<\/p>\n I know, I know. I sound\u00a0incredibly\u00a0naive for saying that, as England were by no means perfect in their four matches, but they probably achieved everything they wanted this month.<\/p>\n Beat the All Blacks? Tick. Test out depth in key positions? Tick. Look at the new attacking and defensive philosophies? Tick. Continue the winning run? Tick. Climb the World Ranking? Tick. I could go on.<\/p>\n England come out of this November block in a much better position than they came into it, and will hopefully have some serious momentum heading into the Six Nations.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re looking for a regret, though, it could be that they didn\u2019t face the Springboks<\/p>\n Rassie Erasmus\u2019 all-conquering Boks will prove a major test of exactly where this England side is, and they will likely want to come in and take England down a peg or two, but that\u2019s talk for the summer and the impending Nations Championship meeting.<\/p>\n For now, Borthwick can put his feet up, flick on a Christmas film, grab a Baileys and look back fondly at the campaign just gone.<\/p>\n Results<\/p>\n England v Australia (England won 25-7)<\/p>\n England v Fiji (England won 38-18)<\/p>\n England v New Zealand (England won 33-19)<\/p>\n England v Argentina (England won 27-23)<\/p>\n