How about that, then? Thanks for your company. Before you go, peruse Rob Kitson’s report from Bloemfontein:
Updated
Eddie Jones has his say, after a fifth straight Test defeat. “It was pretty much like last week, we played some superb rugby in the first 20 minutes,” he says. “But we just don’t handle the big moments in the game. We are trying to work out why, but we’ll get there.
“We’re a bit like a broken car at the moment, we fix one thing and something else breaks. Sometimes you go through these periods, this is a tough time for the team. We are all hurting. We will keep working hard to turn these results around.”
Updated
Ben Youngs speaks for all of 20 seconds before running off – that was all very curt. “We are really disappointed, we lost the series, we are really gutted about that and we will work to get that right.”
Owen Farrell manages a little longer. “We will have to look back at it, make sure we know where we went wrong and learn from it,” he says. “We are going to have to regroup for next week.”
Updated
The man they call ‘The Beast’, Tendai Mtawarira, after winning his 100th cap in Bloemfontein, speaks. “It’s one of the most memorable days of my career and I’m just really grateful that we won the series here.”
Where do England go from here? To Cape Town next weekend, but there will be an inquest or two long before then. The questions will keep coming at Eddie Jones too.
Full-time: South Africa 23-12 England
That’s five consecutive Test defeats for Eddie Jones’s side. That’s the series done and dusted for South Africa and, somehow, England need to arrest this slide. On the day, England were again too average, their discipline erratic and they have plenty of thinking to do. It’s been a dreadful few months for English rugby.
Updated
79 min: A shake of head by Eddie Jones says it all, as South Africa slowly eke out every last ounce.
78 min: England need a miracle. They look totally sapped of all energy and life, despite Cipriani’s best efforts. After a promising start, this has been miserable.
75 min: Van Zyl replaces Faf de Klerk, who has again been very instrumental for the Springboks – and irritating – for England.
Updated
72 min: Pollard’s kick is unusually off-colour and England still have a sniff. Meanwhile, Spencer’s on for Youngs at scrum-half.
71 min: Farrell’s frazzled and a loose ball means South Africa have been gifted another penalty, the 12th of this game.
Updated
70 min: Nathan Hughes goes into the sin-bin, going to ground at the breakdown, a cynical attempt to claw England back into it. That was unnecessary, especially after new-boys Cipriani and Wilson had momentarily dazzled.
Penalty! South Africa 23-12 England (Pollard, 68)
An 11-point cushion for the Springboks. A momentum-less England have it all to do, but at least have a few fresh legs.
Updated
66 min: Cipriani returns to Test match action for the first time since 2015, in place of Ford, while Shields has also been replace, by Wilson. Up steps Pollard ...
Updated
65 min: Ford is penalised for not releasing the ball and South Africa have themselves another chance to rack up three points, while Danny Cipriani readies himself.
62 min: Great defensive work by Tom Curry, to hound out South Africa and earn an England penalty. At last, some respite for Eddie Jones’s troops.
61 min: Luke Cowan-Dickie replaces George, as Daly, in search of safety, carries the ball over the line but equally gifts South Africa a chance to cause further damage within touching distance of the try-line. The scrum explodes and South Africa pour forward, edging closer ..
Updated
60 min: Kriel replaces Am for South Africa, just as De Klerk looks to make life difficult for Itoje.
Updated
57 min: And now the Springboks turnover and it’s high-fives all round. That sense of opportunity for England to claw back to within five points has gone – for now at least. And here’s Joe Marler, in place of the slightly disappointing Mako Vunipola.
Updated
56 min: But here come England bursting forward ... and Brad Shields thinks he has first try but after word from the TMO, it’s not to be. Just as Shields looks to touch down, a Franco Mostert hand intervenes at the opportune. Shields will be simmering that that was not a case of job done. Brilliant, last-ditch defence, though.
Updated
55 min: May loses out to Van der Merwe and those little errors are again coming back to bite England. Every now and then, there’s a glimmer of life, usually through Mike Brown charging down the left wing but South Africa look mighty and watertight at the moment.
52 min: A mountain to climb now for England, with South Africa suddenly looking oh so comfortable.
Penalty try! South Africa 20-12 England
Fifty minutes played. Meanwhile, Harry Williams is on for Sinckler and Bongi Mbonambi’s off for South Africa and Akker van der Merwe on.
Updated
48 min: Steven Kitshoff, one of two recent replacements, forces his way over the line but is held up by a combination of Maro Itoje and Brad Shields. The Springboks get the put-in at the scrum from 5m.
Updated
46 min: England repel a wave of South Africa strength, but it’s unlikely to be the last.
45 min: T du Toit replaces Malherbe and Mtawarira’s also replaced, to much ovation from the home support. A kick into space leads to another South Africa penalty, after great work by Kolisi, the skipper.
44 min: A couple of South Africa replacement props are readying themselves, with everybody set for a scrum.
43 min: South Africa are in the groove now, with Vermeulen again instrumental in driving the Boks forward. Can England weather the storm?
41 min: And we’re back under way. No changes at half-time.
A quick reminder of events earlier on today:
Half-time score: South Africa 13-12 England
The hosts fight back from 12-0 to head down the tunnel in front in Bloemfontein. That was a lively half, with England flying out of the blocks, only for the Springboks to eventually get a grip on proceedings. Brown and Farrell have been central to England’s good work, while the Vunipola brothers have certainly had better games. Meanwhile, Faf de Klerk is playing not only the role of scrum-half but also wind-up merchant. A doubtless jolly second half will be upon us shortly. But, as things stand, South Africa are en route to landing the series.
Updated
40 min: Billy Vunipola off, Nathan Hughes on, for England. This is Hughes’s 16th cap, and that change goes some way to explaining that meek challenge by Vunipola a moment ago. Into the final throws of this first half, then.
40 min: Mike Brown, the Harlequin, does brilliantly to dig England out of a hole, after Mbonambi runs over Vunipola, charging through the middle. Brown earns a penalty for England, and a little respite.
Penalty! South Africa 13-12 England (Pollard, 39)
And the Springboks lead for the first time, with another clean kick by Handrè Pollard, a mammoth long-range penalty.
Updated
37 min: England cede momentum, after failing to release the ball and South Africa win another penalty, from 57m. England could do with being a little more savvy.
Updated
35 min: Another smart kick by Farrell earns a lineout in spitting distance of the try-line. The approach play is neat, with Shields storming into the South Africa defence, before Mako Vunipola lets it slip.
33 min: Somehow, the French referee, Romain Poite has resisted dishing out any yellow cards, with Vunipola the most fortunate after slapping du Toit in the face, just as England pressed.
32 min: Farrell insists England “are trying to play rugby” before whacking the ball downfield with a sweet kick. They need to seize back some kind of control.
31 min: England are getting bogged down with the non-rugby; the latest espisode involving Mako Vunipola shove his hand in Pieter-Steph du Toit’s face.
30 min: Some more antics, handbags if you like, this time with Vermeulen involved. It appears Itoje gave De Klerk a little kick just as the South African went to clear the ball. That was silly, just as England surrendered that sloppy penalty from the lineout moment ago.
Penalty! South Africa 10-12 England (Pollard, 29)
Pollard’s effort sails over and La Bamba rings out. South Africa have bludgeoned their way back into this one. That slick start by England has fallen a little stale.
27 min: South Africa are edging possession, 55% in their favour. And now they’re in the groove, can they gain parity before the interval? De Klerk’s just made a beautiful catch and then kick upfield; he’s a class act.
25 min: Pollard converts, straight down the middle, for 7-12 in this second Test.
Try! South Africa 5-12 England (Vermeulen, 24)
Explosive stuff, and England are powerless to stop Vermeulen’s dancing feet from stepping inside Vunipola and Itoje before driving over. The Boks are back.
Updated
20 min: England are penalised for collapsing the South Africa maul, as the hosts attempt to up the ante. England are penned in but clinging on, for now at least.
19 min: It kicks off between Owen Farrell and Faf de Klerk, with the South African rubbing the England skipper up the wrong way. It’s all a bit tasty and it takes a while to quell. Lots for the referee to soak up there. Kolisi and Farrell are warned that any more scuffles will result in yellow cards being dished out. And now a-ha belts out over the public address system. Lovely.
18 min: A flurry of South Africa lineouts as the heavy-breathing hosts look to reapply the pressure. Despite their best efforts, they’ve made a pretty dismal start.
Updated
16 min: Rassie Erasmus looks a little startled – again, as he was at Ellis Park last week.
14 min: It’s not to be 14 points in 14 minutes, with Farrell’s right boot lacking the gumption to make it between the posts. Nevertheless, a great start for Eddie Jones’s England in Bloemfontein.
Try! South Africa 0-12 England (May, 13)
Jonny May thumps his chest, and it’s deja vu as, after great work by Mike Brown, the provider a moment ago sprints down the wing, beyond Siya Kolisi, the captain, and over the line. Here comes Owen Farrell to convert ...
Updated
Try! South Africa 0-7 England (Brown, 10)
England create the space, and take full advantage through Mike Brown. It starts with great work from Billy Vunipola before Jonny May takes over the baton, cutting in from the wing to deadly effect before Brown runs over. Lovely stuff, with Farrell converting.
Updated
8 min: Farrell kicks into the safety of touch. And they look to build from the lineout, via Brown chasing a high kick before South Africa turnover.
7 min: England win a penalty in the scrum, cue a couple of fist pumps from Joe Launchbury and the Vunipolas.
6 min: And now Farrell’s pass out to Daly is forward, very sloppy. South Africa are a few feet from the try-line, in a very promising central position. Here comes the scrum, de Klerk with the put in ...
Updated
4 min: Owen Farrell scythes down De Allende, after the South Africa speedster picks off Ben Youngs’ sloppy pass. Farrell, the England captain, duly dives in to rescue his team, and prevents the inevitable.
3 min: Ford’s canny crossfield kick picks out a marauding Jonny May another offside call soon puts pay to that.
2 min: Pollard thumps the ball into touch and England earn a lineout just outside the South Africa 22.
1 min: The first decision by the French referee is to penalise Faf de Klerk for moving offside. A simple start, with de Klerk a bit keen and surrendering a penalty. That dovetails nicely with England’s plans for a fast start.
Peeeeeeeeeep!
And we’re under way in Bloemfontein.
The teams flood on to the pitch and, after a moment’s silence for the former Springbok Syd Nomis who passed away earlier on Saturday at the age of 76, we’re almost there ...
There are some big boys in that South Africa lineup, none more so than the prop Frans Malherbe, who weighs in at 19st5lbs. In terms of England, a reminder that Danny Cipriani, for the first time since 2015, is back in the fold and among the replacements.
Updated
Warm-ups are done and dusted in a slightly chilly Bloemfontein, the capital of Free State and a city 1400 metres above sea-level. We will be getting down to business shortly, after a few pre-match formalities; anthems etc.
My grandparents were very English and there was a lot of English heritage in the way we were brought up – all the teaspoons on the wall, chip butties on Sunday afternoon.
Before we get started in South Africa, plenty to digest elsewhere, namely Ireland’s win over Australia – their first down under since 1979 to level the series – as well as France’s defeat to the All Blacks.
Ireland’s captain, Peter O’Mahony, whose performance was lauded by head coach Joe Schmidt, saluted his team-mates:
Last week they taught us a good few lessons, it has taken one of our best performances of the year to beat them. They are incredibly proud playing here at home. It was appropriate we put in one of our best performances of the year.
It would have been disappointing for next week to be a dead rubber. We are looking forward to assessing the game and looking at what we did well and what we can improve for next week.”
Updated
Even though he says otherwise, Eddie Jones is presumably nursing a headache, with four straight Test defeats tough to take:
Updated
The teams!
South Africa: Le Roux; Nkosi, Am, De Allende, Dyantyi; Pollard, De Klerk; Mtawrira, Mbonambi, Malherbe, Snyman, Mostert, Kolisi, PS du Toit, Vermuelen
Replacements: Van der Merwe, Kitshoff, T du Toit, du Preez, Notshe, van Zyl, Kriel, Gelant
England: Daly; May, Slade, Farrell, Brown; Ford, Youngs; M Vunipola, George, Sinckler, Launchbury, Itoje, Shields, Curry, B Vunipola
Replacements: L Cowan-Dickie, Marler, Williams, Wilson, Hughes, Spencer, Cipriani, Solomona
Preamble
Believe in Bloemfontein has been the message from the England skipper Owen Farrell after four straight Test defeats (v South Africa, Ireland, France and Scotland). Heads have been put together, a few fingers pointed and a few harsh words been said. “A lot of honest conversations have gone on in a really productive way,” Farrell says. “We had a good chat about the discipline side of things. I just think we got stuck in a bit of a rut.”
Eddie Jones, who remains relaxed about the importance of a result in this second Test, has not been afraid to ring changes from that first-Test defeat in Johannesburg, with the New Zealand-born flanker Brad Shields – fast-tracked into the England setup – promoted to the starting lineup after a cameo last time out, with former captain Chris Robshaw dropped. Supposedly Robshaw was one of the first to shake Shields’ hand upon the news. “I have loan of that jersey for the weekend and they are pretty big shoes to fill,” Shields says. “I won’t let that jersey down.” Meanwhile, Joe Launchbury slides back into the starting XV, replacing Nick Isiekwe in the forward pack after a calf injury.
