Eddie Jones: “It was a game we could have won. I’ve never seen a better 20 minutes by a visiting team at Ellis Park [than the opening 20 minutes by England]. But then there was a mixture of inconsistency and a lack of discipline. I’m proud of the effort of the boys but we need to fix that discipline. I select the players and we have to try to change the behaviour of the players.”
Apparently there was also an exchange of views between Jones and some Springbok supporters after the final whistle. asked about that on Sky, he says: “They’ve always got plenty to say here, especially when they win.” Asked whether he said something back he replies: “of course I did!”. Asked what that was, he answers: “That’s not for me to say. I’m sure you’ll get it on some mobile phone.”
Owen Farrell: “We got off to a good start but then a few errors crept in, and indiscipline. We’ll have a look at the game but we need to make sure that we stick together … and that we get the technical bits right.”
Duane Vermeulen, who, according to Bryan Habana on Sky was “monumental at the breakdown”, says: “We had a good pre-match speech and the one thing that came out is you have to earn respect from your peers and the guys who are next to you. A lot of guys put up their hands when it mattered and that’s the main thing for us This is a young side we we’re rebuilding … the green jumper means a lot to us and whenever you get the opportunity, you have to produce the goods. But there’s sill a lot of work to do. We have to take it step by step. This it the first step. If the guys work like that, there is a lot of good things to come.”
Billy Vunipola on Sky: “We probably just got too tight around the ruck. They have dangerous players, especially Willy Le Roux, and I guess we reacted a little too late to it. but we still could have won it at the ned. I thought we played really well apart from that bit in the middle and there was some indiscipline .... obviously we don’t like losing but it’s nice to have a strong South african team and they were very strong side today.but well be fine.”
Full-time: South Africa 42-39 England
On a historic day for South Africa the Springboks earn a win will be remembered for the way it unfolded as well as for being the first under captain Siya Kolisi. After 20 minutes it looked like England would storm into the record books as they racked up a 24-3 lead. But the hosts came roaring back and blew England away, with some outstanding performances from Nkosi (two tries on his debut!), Le Roux and de Klerk, among others. There was some spectacular attacking from both teams and some breathaking tries, as well as some familiar defensive problems and indiscipline, especially from England, who had now lost four matches in a row (or five if you want to annoy Eddie Jones and include the one against the Babas).
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79 min: Daly takes a penalty from under his own post and boots the ball 10 metres inside the Springbok half. but the home side win the lineout. They’re not going to let a famous victory slip!
Try! South Africa 42-39 England (May)
A brilliant try by May! Some clever work in midfield by England, notably Slade, led to May receiving the ball wide on the right, with still 25 metres to go. He shifted into turbo drive and embarked on a long arcing run before touching down under the post. The conversion is taken quickly and well. Is there to be another twist in this phenomenal match?
Penalty! South Africa 42-32 England (Pollard)
Robshaw is punished for refusing to release on the ground under pressure from Kitshoff. It’s 40 metres out. And this time Pollard plants it between the posts. They are now more than a converted try clear of England. A famous comeback victory is tantalisingly close for them ... just four minutes left.
74 min: A superb breakaway by South Africa after a knockon by England in the home team’s 22. Pollard and Dyantyi make good ground before feeding Nkosi, who goes bursting into the English 22. But Brown saves the day with a tremendous tackle and strip!
72 min: England are not beaten yet. They’re still showing attacking intent and have got South Africa on to the back foot. The home side have a lineout in their own 22 after a long kick by Daly.
South Africa substitution: Notshe on, Kolisi off.
Try! South Africa 39-32 England (Itoje)
Robshaw wins the lineout. England begin pounding the South Africa line. They get to within one metre of it ... and begin pounding again. They’re inches short ... until Itoje stretches out his right arm and touches it down right on the line! Farrell shanks a straight-forward conversion.
67 min: Kolisi strays offside as England exert some pressure. Farrell eschews the goal kick and instead sends the ball into the corner. Five-metre lineout to England ...
TRY! South Africa 39-27 England (Dyantyi)
South Africa take advantage of their extra man, overwhelming England in the 22. Snyman could have charged over but flung the ball wide to Dyantyi, who almost dropped it in his excitement but instead caught it at the second attempt and touched down to claim a try on his debut. The conversion is good, too.
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63 min: May is absolutely flattened by Dyanti after claiming a high kick from De Klerk, which turned out to be a setup. As the crowd acclaim Dyanti, Mako Vunipola is shown a yellow card for going in late on De Klerk.
62 min: Curry joins an attack at a tricky angle and bounds across the gain line and into South African territory, where England have sent little time this half. But their attack is then ruined by two outstanding tackles by De Klerk, first on Robshaw and then on Farrell. That earns him a standing ovation from the home fans.
59 min: Daly overhits a kick, sending the ball spinning beyond the end zone and giving South Arica a scrum 10 metres inside the English half.
South Africa substitution: Van der Merwe on, Mbonambi off.
England substitution: Williams on Sinckler off.
56 min: Pollard hits his penalty attempt against the post! It’s a bad miss, from a comfortable shooting position, and it allows England to welly the ball clear.
55 min: Dyantay rashly chucks the ball away as South Africa threaten to run through England again. England have a scrum just inside their own 22. South Africa turn it and win the penalty!
54 min: Scrum to South 10 metres inside’s England’s half after Ford unintentionally sends a kick into one of his own players. There’s a raggedness about England now.
Penalty! South Africa 32-27 England (Pollard)
England’s discipline is fraying. Pollard is given another opportunity to increase his country’s lead and he takes it this time.
49 min: Itoje concedes a needless penalty and is relieved to see Pollard drive it wide from 30 metres.
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South Africa substitutions: Kitsohoff and De Toit on, Louw and Du Preez off.
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45 min: De Klerk channels his inner Tomas Brolin and places a lovely low kick into the English corner, forcing them backwards again. England win the lineout and begin trying to burrow their way out of their 22. Then Youngs just punts it downfield.
44 min: South Africa slash England open with more jagged running and a try seems certain, as Dyanti is free on the let and baying for a pass. He would have got it to if not for a tremendous saving tackle by Daly.
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42 min: Snyman goes loping 40 metres forward - all 6ft9in of him -, looking like a tree that has uprooted itself and decided to go for a gallop. He palms off Ford before being taken down by two defenders mid-way inside the English half. England are very much on the back foot on the high veld.
41 min: 15 seconds of the second half have elapsed and still no try.
Clive Woodward’s half-time assessment on Sky: “What we did is we sat back and said this game is won so stopped competing in the forwards ... and South Africa just came roaring back. At the moment this [England] team is getting blown away. Willie Le Roux has been awesome.” He also says “the way Ford played in that first 20 minutes: I’ve never seen an English fly half play so well. He and Farrell were just world-class.”
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Half-time: South Africa 29-27 England
What a half that was! Seven tries were run in thanks to wonderfully sharp attacking by both sides and some chaotic defending. You sense England needed that penalty just before the break at a time when South Africa were threatening to generate an unbreakable flow.
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Penalty! South Africa 29-27 England (Farrell)
After Billy Vunipola forces an infringement, Farrell slots the ball over from just outside the 22.
TRY! South Africa 29-24 England (Le Rou)
Sinckler pounces on the ball after a loose offload by South Africa in the English 22. It’s whacked into touch. South Africa win the line out and begin driving and the English defence again. And that defence disintegrates as Le Roux dashes between Brown and Daly to claim a try that puts South Africa in front. How unlikely that seemed when they went 24-3 down in the first 10 minutes! Pollard’s conversion puts them five points clear.
38 min: Itoje punished for a high tackle after taking down the excellent De Klerk, who had tapped and run from a previous penalty. Pollard finds touch near the English corner...
37 min: Substitution: Brad Shields, the ex-New Zealander, comes on for his England debut in place of Isiekwe. Looks like Jones reckons England need an experienced head to steady themselves and stem the flow of the suddenly rampant South Africa.
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TRY! South Afriac 22-24 England (Nkosi)
That’s a brilliant team try, with Nkosi touching down on the right-hand side this time after a whirlwind move. Pollard converts and England’s huge early lead has almost been wiped out. There’s no telling how this match will pan out: the intensity is fierce and the pace breathless.
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33 min: Vermeulen is congratulated by his team-mates for stealing the ball off Sinckler on half-way. Suddenly there’s fresh spring in the Boks’ step...
TRY! South 15-England 24 (Nkosi)
South Africa cranked up the pressure and went through about 10 phases, stretching England with each one. Eventually they worked it wide to Nkosi, who receives it 10 metres out and kicked for the end zone. Daly rushes across to intercept ... but dives past it! Nkosi doesn’t pause to say thank, just dives on the ball to claim a try on his debut! And Pollard tops it off with a conversion.
25 min: Daly shanks a miskick straight into touch, giving South Africa a lineout mid-way inside the English half. They win that but then throw the initiative away as Vermeulen is penalised for a knock-on.
23 min: Daly knocks on while trying to field a high kick. South Africa get the scrum just inside their own territory. That gives them the springboard for a spirited running attack, which takes them into the English half before Slade makes a splendid tackle.
Try! South Africa 8-24 England (De Klerk)
Pollard sends a kick deep into the English 22 and turns to issue a rallying cry to his team. The Boks’ win the 22 and eventually work the ball to Nkosi, who again launches into a lethal-looking run. Ford manages to stop him, but De Klerk is first to the break down, eludes a rash attempted tackle by Itoje and touches down. This first 20 minutes have been a try fest! Pollard misses the conversion.
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Try! South Africa 3-24 England (Farrell)
Ford swings a superb long pass to the right flank, where May collects it before chucking on to Farrell, arriving at speed on the underlap. And Farrell has a broad smile across his face as he runs unopposed for 20 metres before placing the ball down under the post. South Africa have been sliced open again and some of their fans are already booing. England are flying. Farrell converts.
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TRY! South Africa 3-17 England (Daly)
That’s an excellent try by England, glorious evidence of the menace of their backs. Ford was instrumental before May flung a pass wide to Daly on the left and Daly scampered in unopposed in the corner. The South African defence got completely discombobulated by England’s lines of attack there. Farrell converts.
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13 min: A brilliant offload by Slade allows Brown to go galloping into the Boks’ 22, where he runs into three opponents. England recycle, taking their phases into double figures.
This is a very open and entertaining contest. Both sides look sharp and inventive in attack.
Penalty! South Africa 3-10 England (Pollard)
An easy kick for the flyhalf.
9 min: South Africa exert pressure for the first time, setting up a series of charges inside the English 22. Nkosi is particularly difficult to stop. Brown manages to bundles him out in the corner.
7 min: England make their first mistake, Billy Vunipola bungling a simple attempted catch from a long kick downfield. But South Africa collapse the ensuing scrum, allowing England to get on the front foot again.
Conversion! South Africa 0-10 England (Farrell)
He slots it over from wide on the left.
TRY! South Africa 0-8 England (Brown)
What a start by England! A crossfield move finishes with Slade fizzing a pass to Brown, who swots two feeble tackles aside and dashing forward eight metres to touch down in the corner.
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South Africa 0-3 England (Daly pen)
Du Preez gives away a penalty 10 metres inside England’s half for going in from the side off his feet. Daly elects to shoot for goal. And it sails between the posts!
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1 min: South Africa kick off. Billy Vunipola fields it in his own 22 and England begin going through the phases. Ultimately Farrell opts to kick clear.
With the exception of a patch of seats in the top tier, Ellis Park is full as the teams stride out on to the pitch. England arrive first and are greeted by some polite applause and a few boos. Then come the home team, led out by Kolisi and greeted by enormous cheers. Everyone is on their feet, most with cameras to capture this historic moment. Kolisi himself looks composed.
Eddie Jones has just been asked on Sky what his team need to improve after four losses in a row. ““We’ve had three losses,”” he replies testily. “We count the Barbarians game a warm-up game. We just have to concentrate and be very good at executing. We have to put the South African defence under pressure.”
Once the Springboks team was seen as a symbol of white oppression in South Africa so the fact that today they are captained for the first time by a back man, Siya Kolisi, is being trumpeted as a sign of the progress made and an inspiration that could help stimulate much more cpositive changes. Jean De Villiers, a former Springbok captain and ex-team-mate of Kolisi, has just been talking to Sky about what he describes as a “huge moment” for South Africa. “This appointment is so much bigger than the game today,” he says. “But it’s important to separate two things. Siya has been selected because he’s the best captain, not because he’s black. But the fact that he is black creates so much interest and is so important in South Africa.” Byran Habana, in Sky’s studio, says: “It’s absolutely pivotal and monumental. South African rugby has been waiting for 24 years post-isolation for this moment. He is going to inspire many a person in South Africa today ... I’m not sure whether I’ve brought a tissue because I could be quite emotional during the national anthem today.”
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Preamble
Hello. Ellis Park, Johannesburg, is no place for the meek, nor, more to the point, for the dishevelled or the dumb. So England best not perform today as they did in parts of the last Six Nations tournament, otherwise they’ll cop a fourth straight defeat (or fifth if you include the games against the BaBas) and more thorny questions will be asked of Eddie Jones. “When I look back I think we got tactically, physically and mentally tired,” Jones said this week, effectively admitting to errors that he aim to correct. He has made some interesting selections for this game, with Billy Vunipola starting his first match for over a year, Henry Slade coming in at centre, George Ford and Owen Farrell resuming their combination and Mike Bronw remaining on the left wing.
If this match is both an attempt to begin (re)building in earnest for next year’s World Cup and to recover from recent outings, that probably goes for both teams. The Springboks, fielding a very different side to the one that lost narowly to Wales last week, include three debutants - S’busiso Nkosi, Aphiwe Dyantyi and RG Snyman - for their first Test under the captaincy of Siya Kolisi. They also give recalls to experienced scrumhalf Faf De Klerk and the full-back Willie le Roux, neither of whom have played for South Africa since 2016.
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TEAMS
South Africa
15 Willie Le Roux, 14 Sbu Nkosi, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Jean-Luc du Preez, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 RG Snyman, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Tendai Mtawarira
Replacements: 16 Akker van der Merwe, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Thomas du Toit, 19 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 20 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 21 Ivan van Zyl, 22 Elton Jantjies, 23 Warrick Gelant
England
15 Elliot Daly, 14 Jonny May, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 Mike Brown, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Chris Robshaw, 5 Nick Isiekwe, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Harry Williams, 19 Brad Shields, 20 Nathan Hughes, 21 Ben Spencer, 22 Piers Francis, 23 Denny Solomona
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