The autumn internationals were brought to a dramatic conclusion on Saturday with Martin Johnson’s England dragged back down to earth by a ruthless South Africa.

Those that followed the live scores this weekend will be aware that England just about managed to hold the World champions to 6-6 at the break thanks to Toby Flood but their resistance in the face of a barrage of South African attacks was broken in the second period when tries from Willem Alberts and Lwazi Mvovo saw the Springboks pull away and secure a 7th consecutive win against England.

It will perhaps give Johnson a clearer perception of where his side stand ahead of next year’s Six Nations and World Cup after the euphoria of beating Australia three weeks ago perhaps made people punch drunk with excitement..

That game saw England re-discover their verve and attacking intent (is that due to the extra motivation that comes with facing the Aussies that blew away pre-match predictions of a attritional contest dominated by the scrum and set pieces.

Yet previous to that New Zealand once again displayed their class ahead of their date with destiny on home turf next year. Samoa were eventually dispatched but not without difficulty and those weaknesses were exposed by South Africa last week.

It has no doubt been an improved year, and fans can look forward to next year with more confidence than they had a few months ago.

But their 2010 record P11 W5 D1 L5 – is almost identical to their run in 2009 - P10 W5 L5. We therefore don’t know what to expect from the Latest Six Nations scores next time around.

Much improved, but still could do better would be the school report delivered to Johnson and his staff ahead of a busy winter preparing for greater challenges ahead.