England playing some good stuff but change needed - Dawson

England suffered their fifth defeat in a row as they lost 29-20 against South Africa at Allianz Stadium

In his BBC Sport column, World Cup winner Matt Dawson explains why England should not be criticised for their endeavour and playing style, despite another defeat.

South Africa are maybe not head and shoulders above England, but they are still better by a head.

Even though England started so well again in Saturday's 29-20 defeat, the Boks dialled it up when they needed to and their bench was far superior, not just in the pack but in the backline as well.

England's bench didn't bring much control, added tempo or the ability to finish the game. It felt like England were always chasing and they lacked a bit of direction in that last 20 minutes.

I would be lying if I thought there was a moment in the game when England could win, but they certainly put themselves in good positions and had opportunities to be within range, and then you never know what is going to happen.

Someone could go to the sin-bin, or a kick could be charged down - England just needed the bounce of the ball to go their way.

I am, therefore, reluctant to question this England side and the coaching staff because they are playing some really good stuff.

Sometimes, when I was watching England under Eddie Jones, I was lost - it was awful to watch and I just didn't enjoy going to Twickenham.

Head coach Steve Borthwick has tapped into something in this England side.

Having played and been in squads with Steve, he is not a maverick and he is not the charismatic leader, but that doesn't mean he can't be a really good coach.

He has to understand who he is and what he brings to this side.

Can he bring in a coach who has more charisma? You look at France and their head coach Fabien Galthie, who is a bit more stern and aloof, but then you bring in characters like Raphael Ibanez and Shaun Edwards in the backroom staff as the ying and the yang.

Andy Farrell was that guy with Ireland under Joe Schmidt and with the British and Irish Lions under Warren Gatland before becoming the main man with Ireland, as another example.

If England lose to Japan, Borthwick is going to be under enormous pressure.

I don't believe he is now though, because the fans are looking at the rugby and can follow this team. With a few tweaks, the bounce of the ball and a bit of momentum from some wins, Allianz Stadium will be a tough place to go.

Of course former England boss Jones will feel he can come and upset England with his Japan team, but as much as there will be motivation for him, you can multiply that by 10 for England.

They enjoy the way they are playing now compared to the tedious strategy and regime Jones applied. I would expect England want to send him away with his tail between his legs.

Why was George taken off early once again

Steve does need to recognise the need for changes, either through selection, on the bench, with the communication in the team or the ability to let the players do what they want in those moments.

It is noticeable when the players are not doing what they do with their clubs.

South Africa kept the scoreboard ticking and then had that individual bit of brilliance from Cheslin Kolbe.

England have bags of talent and we have watched Ollie Sleightholme bouncing around, stepping defenders and scoring tries all season for Northampton.

But how is he being coached and what is his mindset within this England set-up?

How much do these players want to stamp their authority on the game?

Do they want to make sure they have the shirt next week or do they want to roll the dice knowing they could pop up, spin around someone and score two tries like Kolbe.

And why is captain Jamie George being taken off early in the second half again?

I remember captaining England against Italy in 2000 and our head coach Sir Clive Woodward took me off.

I remember saying to him, 'you have asked me to be captain, please don’t do that again'.

If you are asking George to lead the side throughout the week building up to facing the world champions, all of the conversations would have been about needing to be in the game with 15 minutes to go.

If you are taking him off with half an hour to go, how can you ask him to lead on the field? I get the front row is a tough position to bang out 80 minutes but, sometimes, there is value in keeping players on the field, particularly influential players, when they might not necessarily be up to speed physically.

Mentally and strategically, they are in the game because of their relationship with the referee, their relationship with the team and their feeling of the game.

Luke Cowan-Dickie played well when he came on but sometimes there is value in seeing that game out, rather than looking at the stats, which might be saying his heartrate is through the roof or his sprint speed is down so he needs to come off.

'Best sides can adapt in the heat of battle'

George keeps talking about the fine margins, but if you want to be challenging in the top four or five sides in the world, you have to understand where they are.

You have to understand those fine margins in the middle of the game against top-class opposition and in front of 80,000 people. You have to recognise the moments you need to get right.

That is not by putting pressure on yourself, but by embracing the expertise and skills you have, to show yourself, your team and your country that you can do it.

It is probably happening when they are not on the field. At half-time, they might address something and away they go, or at the end of the game when they are doing their analysis - 'we should have done this or done that'.

All the best sides in the world have the ability to adapt and make those fine-margin decisions in the middle of the game and in the heat of the battle.

We saw it against Australia, when England came fast out of the blocks, but the Wallabies changed tactics and went through the guts as the right way to combat England.

Someone or something gave South Africa a kick up the backside in the first half on Saturday.

They were still scrappy and still conceded some penalties, but in possession in the key moments of the game, whether it was how they cleared their lines or went for touch, they would go deep into English territory whereas England were more conservative.

England showed plenty of endeavour in defence but Ben Earl missed a really important tackle on Damian de Allende and their backline looked out of sync, like a bar chart at school.

They are the little moments the top teams don't tend to get wrong.