SOUTHAMPTON’S Mike Brown is struggling to accept the 24-21 defeat by New Zealand in the QBE opener after conceding England fell short once again.

Stuart Lancaster's men slumped to a fifth successive loss to the All Blacks, who departed Twickenham treasuring an important victory in the arena that will host the knockout stages of next year’s World Cup.

Apart from Jonny May's stunning early try and the unwillingness to concede defeat that has become a permanent feature of England under Lancaster, there was little to applaud.

The score flattered the 2015 World Cup hosts and former Peter Symonds College (Winchester) student Brown refuses to excuse another failed assault on one of the southern hemisphere giants.

“At the moment I'm going to have a little sulk because we came up short - again,” Brown said.

“If we're brutally honest, it's another 'what if?'. We're here to win and again we've let it go.

“We've got to start putting these games away and there is massive disappointment at the moment.

“We're a competitive bunch of lads and this is a feeling of disappointment that is hard to put into words.

“It's hard not to react too emotionally because there is such disappointment within the camp.

“We’re just annoyed that again we've gone so close. We're here to win and we didn't.”

Next up for England in a demanding autumn schedule are a South Africa team reeling from their 29-15 rout by Ireland.

Lancaster has faced calls to make changes to his starting XV in response to the failings in game management seen in the second half on Saturday, although the absence of seven British and Irish Lions through injury narrows his options.

“We felt good enough to beat New Zealand but didn't, so we'll look at why we didn't. We have to get over this quickly because we've got another massive Test coming," Brown said. “We have to react positively, but it's also good to have these disappointments in the back of your mind because it fuels you to get better.”