With two defeats from two to open up their autumn campaign, positives are thin on the ground for England’s Stuart Lancaster at the moment. But the form of Saracens lock George Kruis has been a stand-out according to the head coach.

Kruis, who made his Red Rose debut in the defeat against New Zealand at the start of the month, has appeared off the bench in both autumn clashes so far.

His debut was particularly impressive, with the second-row called upon inside half an hour after Courtney Lawes sustained a blow to the head that ruled him out.

But Kruis was not daunted with a strong showing in the lineout and the loose and backed that up with another fine cameo against the Springboks last weekend. And, while Lancaster’s troops fell short for the second week running, losing 31-28, the head coach was delighted with what he has seen from the Saracens lock.

“I thought all of the subs made a difference,” he said. “We’re bringing on a lot of guys here, and starting guys, who have less than five caps, in our backline.

“Anthony Watson starting for the first time, up against Bryan Habana, you’ve got George Kruis coming on for his second cap, Kieran Brookes coming on, these guys all made an impact from the bench I thought, and obviously George and Ben Morgan both did well.

“The players are getting tested at the highest level and a lot of them are really turning up and we’ve got a lot of positives coming out of this series – a Kieran Brookes or a George Kruis for instance.”

Next up for England is a clash with Samoa and Lancaster has promised changes to the starting XV with a World Cup less than 12 months away, which is good news for Kruis.

“We’re not talking wholesale changes by any stretch of the imagination but I think there are some players who we need to find out about,” he added.

“Obviously the Samoa game is an opportunity for other players to put their hand up.”

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