WRONG TO GIVE FORD A KICKING

Squad must share blame for late miss

- Adam Hathaway

STEVE BORTHWICK admits his England side let down George Ford in the gut-wrenching defeat by New Zealand but he is confident they will not do it again.

Ford looked shell-shocked after missing a drop-goal in the last play of Saturday's Test as England slipped to a 24-22 defeat at Twickenham.

The 31-year-old had been sent on to shut out the game with Borthwick's side holding an eight-point lead but England fell in a heap and a botched field-goal routine cost them.

The defeat was yet another near-miss for Borthwick, who has overseen five defeats by top-four opposition in just over a year.