After five consecutive defeats, England skipper Chris Robshaw admitted his players needed to walk tall in the face of some home truths.

The Quins flanker got the response he wanted on Saturday at Twickenham when he led England to a 28-9 win over Samoa in the penultimate autumn international.

Following defeats to the All Blacks and South Africa, England eventually saw off the challenge of Samoa thanks to a brace of Jonny May tries, 13 points off George Ford’s boot and a Mike Brown try – the Quins man’s third international five-point haul.

Robshaw said: “First and foremost I’m pleased with the win. We always knew it was going to take a lot of time to break those guys down.

“It was a little bit loose at times but, in the end, pretty positive.”

Despite England’s dismal run this year, captain Robshaw has been almost exempt from the criticism as he has led by example every time he dons the Red Rose jersey.

And the 28-year-old thanked his team-mates for standing up to be counted when their backs were against the wall against Samoa.

He said: “It’s a results-based industry and unfortunately at home we haven’t been getting them.

Richmond and Twickenham Times:

Off the bench: Marland Yarde featured in the win over Samoa, having been an unused sub in the defeat to the Springboks      Picture: Getty Images

“But all the guys have been absolutely fantastic.

“They have walked tall, they have been positive, they have trained extremely hard and smart and spoken in the right manner.

“There have been some tough truths at times but also talk on how we go forward, mistakes will happen and it’s about how we react to it and keep our game going.”

Australia go into this weekend’s match on the back of two defeats, to Ireland and France, having beaten Wales in their opening autumn fixture.

Robshaw said: “The Australia game is going to be huge.

“They’re on the back of two losses as well, they’re going to want to finish this season on a high and we want to finish this campaign on a high.”

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