English hooker Josh Hodgson has come to the defence of his captain Sam Burgess after their loss to New Zealand on the weekend.

Burgess was strong in the first half but had two moments in the second stanza that cost his country dearly.

The South Sydney legend gave away a relieving penalty that helped the Kiwis out of their own end whilst England were pressing for the win and also passed a ball through his legs and over Ryan Hall’s head into touch with the match on the line.

“I thought it was a real captain’s performance from him,” Hodgson said.

“He carried the ball strong and he tackled hard and did a great job. We were all doing everything we could to win the game, none more so than Sam.

“I don’t think any player should be singled out for us losing; we all have to take some of the blame.

“We’re disappointed in ourselves. You can take losing when you do everything you can and it’s not enough but we weren’t at our best and that was disappointing.”