'Don't panic' - Farrell comes out fighting in wake of criticism

England have lost their last four Test matches but there’s no reason to panic according to captain Owen Farrell.

Eddie Jones’ side face South Africa in the second Test of their three-match series in Bloemfontein on Saturday.

“I don’t think anybody doesn’t believe that we’re able to win the Test match at the weekend. The last thing we should do now is panic or worry, it is about us practising how we get it right.

“We’ve had a productive week so far but just because you’ve had a productive week you can’t expect it to carry on.

“We had a good training session on Wednesday which we felt there was more control in what we were doing and we’ve got to carry on building it towards this weekend.”

Beach recovery session for the boys in Durban today ??#WearTheRose ? pic.twitter.com/UGr6CrKFfQ

— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) June 14, 2018

Their 42-39 defeat to the Springboks in Johannesburg saw a mid-match collapse from Eddie Jones’ side and the Saracens man admitted it’s something they’ve had to address.

“I thought we did get the emotion right (in the first Test), just when the pressure came on and they started getting momentum we probably didn’t cope with it as well as we should’ve done.

“We’ve spoken a lot about that. A lot of honest conversations have gone on in a really productive way.

Farrell has taken over the captain’s mantle from the injured Dylan Hartley, who has taken the summer off to recover fully from concussion. It’s a role that the 26-year-old is embracing.

“I don’t think being captain is probably as challenging as what people make out to be from the outside, but I’ve got a lot of players doing a lot of work here in camp.

“The main thing for me as a captain or one of those senior leaders in the team is to make sure we’re all pulling in the right direction and we’re doing that.”