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South Africa saw off England with a 16-15 win on a grim Saturday at Twickenham, with a late rally from the hosts seeing them fall short.
Three penalties from Pat Lambie and a bizarre try from Willem Alberts handed the visitors the win, with Toby Flood and Owen Farrell accumulating five penalties between them.
England dominated territory and possession but were naive in attack, lacking direction and depth which made matters simple for the Springboks defence. Too often forwards were found in midfield when England needed a clinical line-breaker. The fact that Tom Youngs was the most effective Red Rose attacker said it all.
An interception break from Manu Tuilagi in the second half summed up their troubles perfectly; Chris Ashton choosing to not back his pace and ultimately seeing England plod forward into another turnover.
South Africa on the other hand were more patient, clinical and superior without anywhere near the same amount of possession - executing to greater effect when inside opposition territory in a replica performance from their victory over Ireland weeks earlier.
Controlling the line-out, they were spearheaded by the excellent Eben Etzebeth and made better use of their kicks to pin England back. Their scrum was also in the ascendancy as time ticked away, gaining the upper hand and reversing England's dominance from the first half.
Mike Brown's clean break in the opening minutes gave England valuable territory, with Toby Flood eventually converting a penalty after South Africa went offside near the posts.
Lambie tied the scores with his first kick of the afternoon but England regained the lead with a penalty from the game's first scrum, Flood returning to the field after being checked for concussion to grab the points.
A knock-on from Zane Kirchner inside his own 22 handed England an opportunity at the scrum - the returning Alex Corbisiero getting the edge over Jannie du Plessis - only for Flood to miss the simple kick wide to the right.
Persistent South African pressure in England's red zone then yielded a penalty for Lambie to give the visitors the lead for the first time at 6-9.
A fine offload from Joe Launchbury released Flood before Alex Goode burst upfield to bring Twickenham onto it's feet. But the chance was wasted after a grubber kick from Flood dribbled beyond the dead ball line. Key defence at the breakdown then helped both teams clear their lines before half-time.
The Springboks started the second half with a bang and after setting up camp in the England 22 scored a bizarre try. Ben Youngs' box kick ricocheted forward off JP Pietersen, with Tom Wood fumbling the ball which dropped into the hands of Alberts who burrowed over for the opening try.
Farrell replaced a wayward Flood and drew England within seven points with a penalty after 60 minutes and then added another as the match went into the closing stages, giving England a chance as they moved within four points.
Faced with a tough decision inside Springbok territory with two minutes left, Farrell brought England within a single point with another penalty kick rather than opting for the corner. Unable to win the restart, South Africa closed out the match and remain unbeaten in November.
Man of the match: One big performance from Eben Etzebeth, dominant in the skies and a joint top tackler with 16.
Moment of the match: England may well regret their decision for points over the corner as the clock ran out.
Villain of the match: Aimless kicking. It entertains nobody and transforms games from spectacles to duds.
The scorers:
For England:
Pen: Flood 2, Farrell 3
For South Africa:
Try: Alberts
Con: Lambie
Pen: Lambie 3
England: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 Mike Brown, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Chris Robshaw (c), 6 Tom Wood, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs, 1 Alex Corbisiero.
Replacements: 16 David Paice, 17 David Wilson, 18 Mako Vunipola, 19 Mouritz Botha, 20 James Haskell, 21 Danny Care, 22 Owen Farrell, 23 Jonathan Joseph.
South Africa: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Jean de Villiers (c), 11 Francois Hougaard, 10 Pat Lambie, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Juandré Kruger, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Gurthrö Steenkamp.
Replacements: 16 Schalk Brits, 17 Heinke van der Merwe, 18 Pat Cilliers, 19 Flip van der Merwe, 20 Marcell Coetzee, 21 Elton Jantjies, 22 Jaco Taute, 23 Lwazi Mvovo.
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees: Glen Jackson (New Zealand), Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland)
Television match official: Jim Yuille (Scotland)
By Ben Coles at Twickenham
@bencoles_
Comments
BokAvenger says...
@mightyauler: on a more serious note. Quite frankly, you poms (and in fact the entire UK) are so in awe of your own mediocrity. That's why you keep losing - because even when you lose your press and supporters somehow conjure up a victory out of it. Every time you guys lose a game I'm amazed at all the 'Brave England' headlines in the pom press the next day. It's downright pathetic. Look at the England tour to SA. You guys got wiped 2-0 in a 3-match series by a very inexperienced side and yet pranced around like you just won the world cup because you drew the last game. Let me put than in perspective. If the Boks toured England for a 3-match series and came home having lost two games and drawn one, we would probably declare a state of emergency, sack the coach, and send all the players to Siberia.
Posted 07:33 25th November 2012
BokAvenger says...
@mightymuncher: We tell you guys all the time but the PR eds block our comments. Let's see if this one slips through. You're crap at rugby because all you poms are a bunch of poofs. Put a teaspoon of cement in your tea and harden the eff up.
Posted 07:25 25th November 2012
leebok says...
Never in doubt even with the ref being his usual self.
Posted 06:57 25th November 2012
bothhands says...
The Boks have been called 1 dimensional, but at least they know their dimension. England looked lost with ball in hand, didnt know what to do with it. The possession numbers are hugely stacked for England ..... but they dont play smart rugby. And WTF did Robshaw kick at goal for with less than 2 mins on the clock? Losing by 1 is better than losing by 4? Bizarre decision ...... underlines the fact that England could not invent a try.
Posted 05:58 25th November 2012
Michtymauler says...
I just find it bizarre ... England with the largest rugby playing pool in the world.. Insist on ignoring home grown talent eg new Scotland no 10... Keep under achieving... Keep getting beat,., keep letting their country down .,,
What's wrong guys, is it Anglo Saxon blood/bottle crashing wimps????
Hey, genuinely interested. Please tell...
Posted 04:47 25th November 2012
Ramage says...
@jaystarr I couldn't agree more. Obnoxious is too kind a word. I couldnt believe what I was hearing and wondered how you saffas would take that interview. He was appalling. However I believe you have gone too far with your comments about Owens. He wasn't good but biased is over the top something unfortunately many saffas are using too often. Passports are really irrelevant. perhaps Fiji only got beaten by England because Glen Jackson the NZ referee used to play in the same team as many of the English players. Be careful what you wish for as they might reinstate Bryce. If all British refs are banned from doing these games we might have to get Bryce back to look after yout Boks lol.
This game was a borefest and there are a number of comments made by others that I will quote as they sum up the game..
mfblions bizarre try, bizarre refereeing, bizarre decision making by both teams.
Voice I believe Meyer is a one trick pony.
Carpelone gutted with the boks attitude to try to control instead of finishing games off.
Trader2 geez that was so exciting I fell asleep and missed the haka in Cardiif. (Sorry about that it was a good one.) ....... as melkdave said overall England have shown they are a top team when I read that I almost choked on my cornflakes. Enough said.
TV addict how many f-ing terrible decisions can one team make? How many try scoring opportunities can one team mess up like a bunch of amateurs? Do these players know how to pass, or draw a defender or run a line?
ArmchairGeneral @melk uhh mate we lost. ......take it on the chin. We lost. ..... Well done Boks. Wins a win. As for me I will forget this game fast.
Surely Melkdave you are taking the piss when you say England were unlucky. They had no idea how to construct a try. At the end they needed four and chose three dahhh! Are they really a top team? Truly? They were masters of their own defeat and not unlucky
Posted 02:40 25th November 2012
celticspirit says...
Oh my God, JayStar, did you really fail to distinguish between a Welshman and an Englishman just because of that stupid coincidence of a British passport being carried by both at this stage?
Well, firstly you should realise that if anything any Welshman is likely to be biased AGAINST the Sais.
And secondly you are very veeeeheeery lucky that no Welshman would watch such a classic of atrocious Rugby that is England vs. S.Africa, never mind read articles or comments about it, because it would be raining complaints about you here...
Posted 00:48 25th November 2012
Zandberg says...
Whilst his attacking flair may not be what it once was, we have to admit that Kirchner (apart from the one knock-on in his 22) was pretty solid defensively at fullback, both under the high ball and in the tackle. As for Jannie and the scrums, sometimes things go your way and sometimes they don't. I only saw the abbreviated bbc3 replay. The poor guy is totally knackered anyway, reportedly has played over 2000 minutes this year: all 19 Sharks Super 15 games, 3 final Currie Cup games (which were test match intensity) and 12 Test matches. I hope they rest him until April or May, otherwise he'll be crocked in 2013...
Posted 00:46 25th November 2012
Wallaroo says...
There is a big difference between good defence and playing defensively. While SA continue to play defensively they will never reach their potential. Meyer needs a lesson on the best form of defence being attack. I know we are not ones to talk at present, however on EoY tours I'm a SH fan thru and thru.
IMHO the Bok props need an overhaul, Strauss is the only good thing in it. Strauss (Cheeters = attacking) should be handed the captaincy from JDV (Stormers = defensive). Try De Jong at 12 and Peterson at 13. I believe Movo has a great deal of potential and under the right training and captaincy will step up. Hougart needs to come back to no. 9, Pienaar's kicks are dismal and his passing is insane (the AB's will score intercepts off his passing).
Kirshner is better than all the Saffas are yelling about.
I agree with the Bok fans in respect to the ref, he clearly gave all 50/50 calls to England and missed a number of the English infringements. Having said that all teams at one time or another face similar referring, the key is to adapt.
Posted 00:40 25th November 2012
rugby_phile says...
To all my English friends, I am astounded that nobody has yet stated the obvious yet. You will not score tries in any quantity until your runners learn to commit the potential tackler before pasing, if they can actually offload during the tackle so much better. But at least commit them instead of allowing them to drift to the next player in the line until you run out of space. Watch the game and you will see exactly what I mean.
Shovelling it along the line wily nilly and hoping for a gap just doesn't happen against top teams. A real shame really because you have some very good players and it should be second nature to them at this level.
here is to next week, and hope you give us a game, I for one don't think its going to be easy for the ABs, comfortable at a pinch.
Posted 00:23 25th November 2012
BokAvenger says...
@TVclown: You whine about your imaginary "casual punches from the SA forwards that were conveniently not seen" then in the next breath you go on about SA supporters and their conspiracy theories. The biggest conspiracy theory in rugby is the one about South Africans being thugs yet you poms are always bleating about it. But I forget, in England when someone is bigger, stronger, faster and a better rugby player than you - they are a thug.
Posted 00:21 25th November 2012
Artherfish says...
Sorry to see the amount of negative banter being thrown around instead of any actual analysis of the game. Point one, we lost, again! Dam it! Put that to one side and I feel it was a great improvement on last week. But and it's a big but, we still all the underlying weeknesses we have shown in all our recent performances. I don,t see a lack of skill or even base talent in our young team but we lake brains and a true leader and an on field thinker. Individually one on one we front up well. I thought the pack showed great individual performances but we don't combine well. We are a young inexperienced side who are learning but so are the boks and they have learnt more faster. Sorry to pour cold water on the boks but they are far from the real deal too so should be a target team to beat. It's not throw in the towel time for SL but he has some coaching work to do a soon or doubt will start to creep into this side and then we will struggle to make the transition from nearly can to really can. Next week it's the All Blacks and they are the real deal. It's actually a great chance for us as we have nothing really to loose as they are way better than us on paper. Lets hope for some David and Goliath type action.
Posted 23:51 24th November 2012
Trader2 says...
malaprade
Yes TVAddict is a bit over the top, however you have got laugh at someone going on here and spouting his qualifications as a rebuttal, be sure you have the piece of paper with you go for the job interview because you have to prove it then. By the way I take it you didn't have to know how to spell when you presented your thesis. "I am a South African of Dutch, French dissent" Maybe you are really good at spelling in Afrikaans, isiZulu, Shona, Dutch and French, again just make sure you have that piece of paper.
Posted 23:50 24th November 2012
Waz4before says...
You can't beat winning and the Boks can fly home and plan for 2013 with the confidence that brings. For England, we will limp in to the 6 nations with only Wales having a worse record and seem to have a leadership problem on and off the pitch (captain & coach) - this question over whether to kick a penalty or not is never a black and white decision nor can it/should it be preordained before the match as Sir Clive "judge me on my Lions record" Woodward suggested. England look confused on this point so much so that Robshaw made th dumbest decision by any captain in 2012, one that should cost him the captency, by kicking for points with minutes left.
But worse was the "Woodward style we must kick for points" decision in the first half, The Ref has awarded several penalties, England's scrum is dominant, Ownes calls out th Bok front Rower and threatens a yellow card, another penalty .. Correct decision then is to tak a scrum, force the penalty and make Owens act on his yellow card threat - Boks down to 14 then take the points then. Of course non of that may have transpired but the correct decision would have been to try, as it was Flood missed the penalty kick and the pressure was released from the Boks.
3 minutes in to the second half the Boks won the game by tuning down 3 kickable points and getting 7 - take note Sir Clive Woodward, that's how you win games (remember how your teams blew 3 grand slams before winning one?), take note Lancaster and Engand, it's north kicking to touch that was your problem against Australia, it was the subsequent failure to prosecute th advantage that was wrong.
So England need to focus on leadership befor next week; but it wasn't all black yesterday - the forwards were good yesterday and dominant for many aspects of the game, that forward display last week would (probably) have tuned defeat in to victory but losing can become a habit!
Posted 23:49 24th November 2012
Sasquatch says...
Rubbish game of rugby. Both teams are average and the fact that the Boks are 2nd in the world rankings is perhaps a poor inditement on the current state of international rugby (if not the state of Aussie rugby this year). Thank you to the AB's, the French and the Samoans for entertaining us.
Posted 23:29 24th November 2012
rugby_lord says...
When is the WC draw?
Posted 22:55 24th November 2012
rugbyforever says...
@melkdave
You say the SA scrum was beaten off the field but you don't explain how. The little Welsh gay (and in fact ALL referees) should go and pack down in 100 scrums before being allowed to judge on scrums - Owens doesn't havew a clue, as confirmed by the ENGLISH commentators! At the end of all the ENGLISH whining SA are still ranked No.2 in the world and ENGLAND ?????!!!!.
Posted 22:46 24th November 2012
Startledwombat says...
I've just caught up with all the match reports and comments over the sunday tea and toast. From my breakfast table it appears that when wales lost the series in australia that was put down to a lack of composure, nous and game sense at the international level, but when england lose the november tests it's bad luck.
Posted 22:12 24th November 2012
carpelone says...
Trader
Pity you didnt
Posted 22:10 24th November 2012
Trinats2 says...
I stand corrected, there was a try in this game, albeit a very lucky and bizarre try.
I thought the ref let the Saffas away with heaps at the breakdown, was I watching a different game, or am I just not a one eyed Saffa !!!
Posted 22:07 24th November 2012