Chris Robshaw look dejected after defeat to South Africa but it was a match that hinged on fine margins © Getty Images

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You look back and reflect on England's November series and the majority of reviews have focused on the result. That is the world we live in. As a coach you look for the performance that delivers the result but you are (rightly) judged on those results.

Every coaching team will prepare their team to have a plan and processes to follow within a game. Every player will have their individual and collective roles and responsibilities within the game, their own personal objectives they will be looking to reach. You know despite all this that there are so many uncontrollable factors - the main ones being the referee and the weather - so the game is not just about the coaching. There is no doubt that the margins between success and failure are tiny and there are little moments within a match that will define it.

From an England perspective they finished on the high of winning against Australia and won two of their four games. The truth, as they will well know, is that they could have easily lost to Australia and beaten both South Africa and New Zealand. When you look back there are moments within each of their two losses which could have turned the result England's way. These are the moments all coaches will pore over to work out how to make their players' decision making such that the margins will go their way next time.

The first autumn Test saw England fly out of the blocks against the All Blacks and not take the opportunities that came their way, whether it was Owen Farrell's drop-goal attempt drifting wide, or Mike Brown being unable to hang on to a pass when a score beckoned. England could have stretched out to a decent lead and the whole energy within the game would have been different. Even more key was the ability the All Blacks showed when down to 14 men in the second half. However mentally if England had struck when on top, what would it have been like in the second half?

The second Test against South Africa was another of those titanic tussles (what tests aren't?) but it was England's inability to take the chance when it arose that ultimately made the difference. With just a score between the sides and 72 minutes on the clock England spurned a nailed-on try, not instantly visible to the naked eye but one easily spotted in the cold light of day (and instant replays). Take that and the result is different and a team is lauded not pilloried.

England would of course have been concerned but it would worry you more if you weren't even creating the chances. England got the result they needed against Samoa and the result they craved against Australia. The defining factor in the Australian game was the scrum which gave England a technical and psychological edge. In many ways they actually played better in their defeats to New Zealand and South Africa than in victory against Australia but winning at any level is ultimately what it is all about. The England coaches will be looking at the balance of using the power game they possess but ensuring they have the balance in the crunch games to create and take the chances when power alone cannot give you that upper hand.

For the England players the intensity just doesn't drop and the big games just keep coming. For our guys at Quins (Chris Robshaw, Mike Brown, Marland Yarde and Joe Marler from last week's squad versus Australia) it is straight back into the Championship Cup and back to back matches against Leinster but they are the games they crave to play in and they know the reason they play for their country is because of what the club and their fellow team-mates have done for them.

Stuart Lancaster will be looking closely at these games because he will know that is where players will be tested in as near a test environment as possible and other players will be putting their hands up to take the step up and join them in that Test world. The key for him will be watching how players react and make decisions under pressure and when the big moments come who can make the right decision more often than not. Once the right decision is made then he will look for those who have the technical ability to execute. That is how you can make the small things that define matches go your way.