England excuses revealed in 'emergency meeting' as two candidates tipped to replace Steve Borthwick

They've suffered narrow defeats in the five matches since, including the 42-37 loss to Australia last weekend.

Their form has led to further pressure being put on Borthwick to turn things around, although the RFU are reportedly fully supportive of the current head coach.

England will be hoping to end their barren run against world champions South Africa this weekend at Twickenham before their Autumn series ends against Japan next week.

Both matches will be held at England's home stadium - a venue they haven't won at since the dramatic 23-22 victory over Ireland in the Six Nations back in March.

Foden, who was part of England's World Cup squad in 2011, has revealed things got so bad behind the scenes this year that an 'emergency meeting' was held to try and find an answer for their poor home form.

But he claimed there were just a number of excuses thrown about with no real resolution found.

"I know that before the Autumn series England had an emergency meeting between Borthwick and the players, because England’s record at Twickenham is not very good," he told Grosvenorcasinos.com.

"They asked the players why this was. Most other countries when they play at home, their record speaks for itself, especially a top-tier nation.

"So, the question being asked internally was why was Twickenham no longer the same old fortress that it once was, back in 2003 and even up to when I was playing in 2011.

"They talked about it being too corporate, with fans not being rugby loyalists. They discussed whether it was affecting the mentality of players before or after a game. There were all sorts of things going on, but just more excuses.

"There has to be questions asked about continuity, game plans, changing the way England play. England need to find the style of rugby that wins games, so they fall on the right end of the 50-50s."

While Borthwick remains in charge, Foden has named Andy Farrell and Shaun Edwards as two candidates England should consider if the RFU change their mind.

"Farrell’s a great coach but he didn't like me much when I played because he was so specific about what he's doing," Foden added.

"He wants you to watch film as soon as training is done, he wants you to watch film in your training and he's a rugby nut.

"I’ve a more carefree attitude and just love playing rugby and getting on the field and expressing myself. He and I didn't really see eye to eye, not in a bad way. Just different philosophies.

LATEST SPORT NEWS:

• Mike Tyson's fight with Jake Paul hangs in the balance as heavyweight boxing icon given two last-minute tests
• BBC in disarray as Mark Chapman 'refuses to share Match of the Day job with female host'
• Tony Bellew kicked out of Mike Tyson and Jake Paul press conference in chaotic scenes

"But he has to be a candidate. There’s also Shaun Edwards with France and the two are both working with two teams who are higher ranked than England.

"And yet they're both not involved in England rugby, which is bizarre to me, especially with the defensive struggles that England are having.

"How good would it be to have Shaun Edwards come in? He's bloody good at what he does. Everyone thinks he's a genius. And so how we've let that happen and allowed him to slip through the net is just unbelievable.

"You can see what he did with France. France were never known for a strong defence. Suddenly he goes in there and he has transformed their team into a defensive juggernaut. They've always had the attacking ability and now they've got both sides of the game."