You couldn't help but laugh as England attempted to explain away their latest abject display against Argentina at the weekend.

"I can understand the frustration. We must continue to strive for improvement," declared captain Steve Borthwick. Now, is it me or could that quote have been lifted from the post-match coverage of any of England's matches since Martin Johnson took the reins in the summer of 2008? In the words of baseball legend and master of the malapropism Yogi Berra - "It's like deja-vu, all over again."

On the evidence of their last two performances, England are going backwards at an alarming rate and there must come a point when enough is enough in terms of excuses. It's all very well 'striving' for improvement but if the players, coaches and management continually fail to provide evidence that they are heading in the right direction then I'm afraid it's time for a change.

As sure as night follows day, England will be on the wrong end of a harsh lesson at the hands of the All Blacks next weekend if they serve up a repeat performance. Even if they raise their game significantly the game will be all about damage limitation. Both on the scoreboard and in terms of reputation.

Fake blood hogged the headlines earlier this year and my money says there will be more of the red stuff shed before the year is out - albeit on this occasion metaphorical. A shake-up is looming and the cleaners at Rugby House will no doubt be busy scrubbing the carpet in the aftermath of the autumn campaign. Johnson's reputation - and the RFU's emphatic endorsement of him - will buy him more time but the axe is looming over his coaching team.

The team is lacking direction - not to mention a style of play - which calls to mind another Yogiism - "When you come to a fork in the road, take it."

On the subject of unintentional humour there were more laughs to be had in Toulouse on Friday night when Rastafarian Ras Dumisani slaughtered the South Africa national anthem Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika ahead of their clash with France. Maybe it was the pressure of the occasion or the demands of lyrics that contain five of the country's 11 languages?

The crowd were heard to be laughing during the performance and not surprisingly the Springboks were more than a little offended. "As a union we were shocked and horrified by the rendition of the anthem," said SARU chief Oregan Hoskins.

France's response? "Every time we welcome a foreign side, we ask the embassy to propose people for the national anthems,” said team manager Jo Maso. He could still play with a pass like that.

A Facebook group called “Ban Ras Dumisani from ever singing again” already has over a thousand supporters - have they got a point or is this just nonsense? They of course went on to lose the game so perhaps we have stumbled upon a new tactic here?

Dumisani himself reportedly claimed he sang “beautifully" which suggests he has either been indulging in a bit too much of the ganja or has spent too much time listening to Steve Borthwick.