Lancaster sees silver lining

 Nov 24,2012

Written by: SARugby.com Editor

England coach Stuart Lancaster defended the character of his side after their narrow defeat against South Africa at Twickenham.

Three penalties from substitute Owen Farrell saw England cut South Africa's 6-16 lead to just one point with time ticking away, but missed opportunities earlier in the match prevented them from victory.

"When you go down 6-16, you ask whether you have the character to pull yourselves back into the game and have a chance of winning, which we did. You can't question the character of this England side - you might have been able to do so in the past, but not now," said Lancaster.

England were booed when Chris Robshaw elected to go for the posts with time running out, rather than opting for a line-out and a chance to win the match with a try.

"We'll sit down with the generals and review all the decisions, not just the one at the end. Some we get right and some we don't and that is part of any side's development. The purpose of having a captain is that the players back his decisions," added Lancaster.

"We're pleased with our breakdown work and physicality and it was a big step up on the Australia game. We're going to bottle the frustration because we've got the All Blacks around the corner."

"There's enough there from a young side to give us the confidence that we will win long-term."

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