England may have lost this month’s two-Test series to New Zealand, but there were positives to take from the summer tour, which also included a big win over Japan.
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The men’s 21-year wait for an away win over New Zealand continues, but Steve Borthwick’s side have shown encouraging signs of progress on their summer tour.
The campaign began with a comfortable victory over Japan last month before moving to New Zealand, where England narrowly lost both Tests against the All Blacks.
Saturday’s 24-17 defeat at Eden Park followed their opening 16-15 loss in Dunedin.
The form of Maro Itoje, Marcus Smith, and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso stood out, but below we look at the most disappointing players according to The Telegraph, highlighting some sub-par performances.
Theo Dan 5/10
Saracens hooker Theo Dan is capped at England U18 and U20 level. He graduated into the north London club’s senior academy in 2019 and made his Premiership debut against Gloucester in 2022.
Since then, he has been a regular feature in Saracens teams throughout their domestic and European campaigns and was a member of the team that won the Gallagher Premiership title at the end of the 2022/23 season.
Dan was called up to Steve Borthwick’s squad for the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France and featured heavily in the squad that went on to reach the semi-finals of the tournament.
They wrote: “Needs to learn a better tackle technique after suffering a head injury in the second Test.”