Steve Borthwick admitted today that England were not "good enough" during the autumn internationals as he promised not to let the nation down again.

Borthwick, whose captaincy has come under severe criticism from some quarters, has challenged his players to convince the doubters that they can be a major force in the Six Nations by defeating the hugely physical Italians at Twickenham on Saturday.

Heavy defeats by Australia, South Africa and New Zealand stripped England bare in November and further disasters will only increase the pressure on Borthwick and the England management.

"We let ourselves go in November when clearly we were not good enough and we need to put that right. I didn't take the criticism of my captaincy to heart but I did take those losses personally," said Borthwick.

"We believe we can win what will be an arm wrestle against Italy — they are one of the biggest packs of forwards in the sport and have added an extra forward at scrum-half.

"The challenge doesn't come much bigger than this. The November experience is done now. It was a tough one to take and every England player wants to set things right."

Borthwick admitted that Italy will come to Twickenham to attempt a first victory at the home of English rugby knowing the opposition are short of confidence.

"They will feel pretty confident about their chances," added the captain.

The cause of the Red Rose has not been helped by the loss today of scrum-half Danny Care who, as Standard Sport revealed earlier this week, slipped on an icy step at the team hotel and damaged ankle ligaments.

He has been replaced by Leicester's Harry Ellis, who has only just completed a six-week ban for a dangerous tackle and now has to fill the void left by one of the few players who enhanced their reputation during those November defeats.

Borthwick said: "It is a huge blow to lose Danny and we are all bitterly disappointed. Harry goes straight into the team and we have absolute confidence in him."

Backs coach Brian Smith, who has seen his plans disrupted by the patch of ice that floored Care, admitted more salt and grit should have been used at the team hotel.

Smith said: "It was silly but it happened to Danny and now we just want to get him back as quickly as possible."