Ok, that’s enough from me. To conclude, here’s a report.
Thomas Callaghan emails in, and sees some bad portents for Southern Hemisphere rugby. “Hello John, looks like two defeats out of three for ‘SH Giants’. I reckon that if all three tests had been played at sea level England would have won 3-0.”
Eddie Jones speaks and is smiling: “It’s a great reward for the players. We have lacked emotional control and today we were able to control those moments. We stuck to a tactical plan..we we got seduced by the scoreboard a little bit. Some players have come through, some have fallen by the wayside, and it’s been a great learning experience for the World Cup.
“It’s never a dead rubber...An England team had never won at Newlands before. We want to be the world’s best team and we are back on the road again.
On Cipriani: “We said there might be few opportunities and he might be good enough to take them. And he was.”
Schalk Brits, back out of retirement, speaks: “It was fantastic. I am looking forward to seeing what this team can do. We will have a couple of beer and a glass of wine and a chat. You want to play for your country. It would be an honour if they asked me to keep in playing. I will have to speak to my wife.”
Danny Cipriani speaks: “I am a proud Englishman, and it was great to be out there with the boys. We had to make sure we came back with the “W”. It’s now time to enjoy five weeks off and make sure you don’t get too fat. [On his England chances and the World Cup] I always thought I might get a crack at it but who knows?”
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Ben Youngs speaks and is in a better mood than last week: “Much better, apologies for that. We were able to deal with the emotion. It was about working really hard. When the rain comes in, you just realise that we back our defence.”
Final score: South Africa 10-25 England
South Africa won the series but that felt like an important win from England and for Eddie Jones in particular. His team did the basics right, and dealt better with the horrible conditions. It was ugly, until that piece of genius from Cipriani and May.
80 mins: The ball is hacked out of bounds as soon as the hooter sounds and England have won, their fourth win in South Africa.
79 mins: England trying to stoosh their way to another try. South Africa defending a lost cause and being pushed back by repeated phases before England hold on for too long.
77 mins: Another penalty is won by Marler, who forces another error from the Springboks. Farrell kicks for a line out.
76 mins: South Africa have gone horribly ragged. Pollard never got the chance to exert the control that his team had lost.
South Africa 10-25 England (Farrell penalty)
The boot of the captain is unerring once more as another penalty booms between the posts. That has to be it.
74 mins: Worth mentioning that Farrell’s conversion was almost as inspired.
73 mins: Eddie Jones really enjoyed that. Vindication of sorts from his selection of Cipriani to a much more disciplined display. That May try, though, was stardust on the mud heap that preceded it.
South Africa 10-22 England (May try, converted)
Utter brilliance from Cipriani, a wonderful kick scythes to the wing from midfield and May dives over to score in the corner. That changes everything and that’s what we wanted to see from Cipriani, who has seized his chance.
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69 mins: And in the scrum, England look the stronger, too, and South Africa pile in to concede a penalty. The Springboks have been a turnover machine.
68 mins: Duane Vermeulen looks to have hurt himself and is not taking part in the action. From the line out, England force a scum, showing that their forwards are in the ascendancy.
66 mins: De Klerk had to clear his lines, and England win the line out well. This time, though, South Africa win the ball back from the breakdown. Excellent work from Duane Vermeulen on the ground. The home team win a free-kick and kick for touch.
65 mins: Intelligent kicking from Farrell pins back South Africa, but De Klerk dug the ball out from the line out.
64 mins: Robin Hazlehurst emails in. “Presumably the conditions are preventing Cippers from creating magic but is Eddie going to overlook that and drop him again, saying he didn’t do enough? That would be very Eddie.”
62 mins: England’s forwards in the ascendancy at the moment as a chorus of Karma Chameleon plays out. Now they win a line out against the head. This is better from England if almost deliberately lacking in artfulness.
61 mins: Farrell misses a drop goal! At last, some phases of play from the English team, with Itoje piling forward. That was never likely to go in from that distance and was wasteful.
59 mins: More scrappiness in the conditions force another England penalty. De Klerk caught offside. England take the line out and Ben Youngs charges on.
58 mins: Pollard is on, which is surely bad news for the English. South Africa had been lacking control behind the scrum due to Jantjie’s struggles.
South Africa 10-15 England (Farrell penalty)
Farrell booms through the posts again. He has been relentless.
55 mins: Wilson blocks a Jantjies kick to set up an England attack. Offside means that England have another penalty. South Africa’s fly-half has not been great and will be imminently replaced by Andre Pollard.
54 mins: Cipriani, who has been quiet, then plays a ball narrowly forward. These are perhaps not the conditions that suit his talents.
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53 mins: England miss a penalty! Gelant makes another mistake to almost concede the three points, undoing the good work for that South Africa try. The angle and distance are too much for Elliott Daly.
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South Africa 10-12 England (Farrell penalty)
England hit back almost immediately from the boot of Farrell after Gelant charges in through the side.
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47 mins: That was excellent from South Africa, a total contrast to what came before.
South Africa 10-9 England (Kriel converted try)
Steven Kitshoff makes an instant impact with a run and Kriel seizes on a Gelant kick, and South Africa have the lead when the conversion goes over.
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44 mins: Schalk Brits comes on for the wondrously named Chiliboy Ralepelle, and Steven Kitshoff comes on at loosehead prop.
South Africa 3-9 England (Farrell 3)
No mistake from Farrell from 40 yards or so. It flew through the posts.
42 mins: And England force a penalty when South Africa collapse in the scrum.
41 mins: Farrell’s kick-off begins the second half, and another session of kicking at each other before Elton Jantjies makes another handling error from a Youngs box kick. England have a scrum.
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This clip shows why this has not been much of a spectacle. The prelims the best bit so far.
What a start to the test match 😂😂#RSAvENG pic.twitter.com/4P63vWL12B
— Peter (@PeterKlaassen1) June 23, 2018
Some deserved approval for Johnny May from Will “Black Label” Carling.
How good has @jonnymayrugby been on this tour ....
— Will Carling (@willcarling) June 23, 2018
A reminder of today’s test from Sydney.
Half-time: Better from England, certainly more solid than the chaos of the High Veldt, but the conditions are doing little to help this as a spectacle. South Africa not exactly looking refreshed by those five changes.
South Africa 3-6 England (Jantjies penalty)
The last action of the half sees Jantjies, who has struggled in the first half, leave three points in it with a not very convincing kick.
39 mins: South Africa win their own scrum, and the Beast doesn’t get too far before being baulked to the ground. The home team looking predictable but do manage to force a penalty as the buzzer sounds.
38 mins: England win a line out at the second time of asking as Launchbury catches a rebound. Mike Brown smelled open territory but that slippery pill fell from his hand after Kriel got a hand to the ball.
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South Africa 0-6 England (Farrell penalty)
From an inside left position, Farrell booms between the posts. Easy for him. England making fewer mistakes and profiting from that.
33 mins: Robshaw seizes on a handling error from Jantjies. A gift and some decent territory. A penalty is forced by Jamie George and after five phases of possession, South Africa are brought back.
32 mins: Big push from South Africa and one that is resisted. Curry wins the penalty and England celebrate wildly.
30 mins: Nathan Hughes gets rocked back and the ball turns over. Nkosi, in open space, tried to kick on for a try and May has to run all the way from behind the try line to get the ball clear. The best running of the game so far, but at the wrong end of the field.
28 mins: South Africa won the scrum and forced England back into their own half. Both teams trying to force the issue but so many mistakes with bad kicks and handling errors are making this a dire spectacle so far.
27 mins: Another scrum and far away from where England would have liked.
25 mins: A mess of a scrum reflects the overall match. England get a free-kick and pile into heavy traffic. Farrell kicks wide to try and open stuff up. But the ball is given away, only for Curry to force a penalty. Daly kicks out on the full. That’s a dreadful waste.
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24 mins: England keep the ball from their line-out, but lose the ball again. Too many handling errors again? Certainly too many turnovers. The South Africans knock on. Another scrum. This game is, er, scrappy.
23 mins: Cipriani to Daly to Brown before a big hit on the winger, and the turnover goes South Africa’s way.
21 mins: South Africa at last get the running underway, with a few phases of possession before they hold on when the ball hits the ground. England have a line-out from which they can attack.
20 mins: England, though, have a scrum. Hughes is piled backwards by De Klerk and Youngs has to hoof away under serious pressure.
18 mins: South Africa win the scrum but the ball goes loose after De Klerk’s pass goes to nobody. The home team get it back and then force a penalty when Brown can’t get the ball away from the ground by anything but illegal means.
17 mins: South Africa win a scrum after a box kick from Youngs forces a maul in midfield.
16 mins: South Africa steal that line out. But England get another chance to take a grip. Itoje fumbles but Youngs is able to get the ball away.
14 mins: Plenty of chat around this scrum, but South Africa get it away. Brown takes the kick. England win a penalty and the ball is whacked into touch by Farrell.
12 mins: De Klerk puts in, but the scrum collapses.
10 mins: South Africa offside so Daly kicks long into touch for a line-out. Launchbury takes the ball. May again in the thick of it and makes a run deep into South African territory. The danger is averted and England keep the phases of possession going until Curry knocks on. First scrum of the match.
South Africa 0-3 England (Farrell penalty)
Farrell takes for England and his kick drifts between the posts.
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7 mins: Johnny May dances himself out of trouble after a De Klerk chip on. When the ball comes back after a decent kick from Cipriani, he sets up an attack. Itoje makes the bust through after a Sinckler pass. England have a penalty.
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6 mins: Another England penalty conceded. Kyle Sinckler came off his feet at the breakdown. South Africa take on a line-out and then try to drive on.
5 mins: Elton Jantjies takes the kick from 45 yards out and drags it wide. A bad miss, and good news for England.
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2 mins: The pattern of play is a series of kicks to test handling. South Africa make a surge through Mtawarira then force an attacking line-out. They win that, and concede a penalty when Itoje went too early on the drive.
1 min: South Africa get us underway. Youngs digs out a ruck before the ball comes back. Daly took a crashing fall into the wet surface. England try to set up a sequence of possession, before Youngs again chips into midfield.
Ok, here we go. England playing for not only pride, but the future of their coach. A bright start will not be enough; it wasn’t in the last two matches where blazing beginnings soon came to naught.
A minute’s silence is observed for former Bok prop Lood Muller, who died last week in a road accident, before God Save Our Queen rings out. The main event, though, sung by a Janice, is the South African anthem. It’s a belter.
The home team are led out by some dancers, one of whom cannot stop falling over on the surface. By the looks of it, there is plenty of standing water on the pitch.
They are huddling up in the South African dressing room while the English team have taken to the field.
And New Zealand smoshed the French, with some slight assistance from the ref.
A couple of earlier international games today. Ireland won a pulsating match in Sydney.
Newlands is on its way out. Here’s Eddie Jones talking about playing at the venerable Cape Town venue, home to South African rugby since 1891 and soon to be replaced by the Green Point Stadium that was built for the 2010 football World Cup.
Steady Eddie jones speaking about #newlands ahead of test @EnglandRugby vs @Springboks @ShareCapeTown @CapeTownTourism @Amirulnoor @EgonSeconds pic.twitter.com/Gyvv1GfvHx
— Martin Myers (@MartinMyers) June 23, 2018
Those Jones changes in full: Cipriani replaces George Ford – who doesn’t even make the replacements’ bench – while Joe Marler and Nathan Hughes come in for the Vunipola brothers. Brad Shields is replaced by Chris Robshaw.
By the way, there have been five changes for South Africa. Warrick Gelant plays at full-back, Jesse Kriel will be Andre Esterhuizen at centre, with Elton Jantjies at fly-half and Chiliboy Ralepelle at hooker.
A word on the conditions that Jones mentioned there; it is going to be wet and windy in Cape Town, though for the moment, the rain looks light. The pitch, though, resembles a paddy field. There will plenty of slip-sliding away.
Eddie Jones speaks: “There hasn’t been much in the games. The players are finding their right level of emotion, we have been working on that.’
On Danny Cipriani: “I am not too concerned where is he headed but how he plays today When you are a ten in these conditions you play an important role in the direction of the team. He has adjusted well on this tour, brought himself from outside the 23. He brings plenty of confidence with him.”
When Eddie Jones tries to recall happier times, and beating South Africa, he surely looks back on this day in Brighton.
And some Danny Cipriani profile stuff, too.
A couple of primers from these pages ahead of the match.
Poor old Eddie Jones. It wasn’t too long ago that he was being hailed as a revolutionary, someone who the rest of English sport could learn from. The way things are going, Gareth Southgate will not be seeking to learn at his feet. “It’s interesting to me as an Australian listening to the English talk about football, it’s almost like everyone is saying ‘We’re gonna fail, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter if we qualify, we’re gonna fail, so who really cares?’ Jones said last September, though he might not want to hear the English talk about rugby these days. The Rugby World Cup in Japan next year, draws ever closer, and an improvement is required, starting from this dead rubber of a match, if Jones is to get to lead England to the country where he was national coach for three years. Life comes at him pretty fast.
The most striking step Jones has taken in his attempt to revive England and his own personal reputation has been to select Danny Cipriani, so long a prince in waiting, a decade in fact since his last start for his country. A shot to nothing, or the right decision? His selection recalls Stuart Barnes finally getting the nod ahead of Rob Andrew in the Will Carling era, perhaps an attempt to loosen things up. Judging by those media appearances after last week’s defeat, there is tension in the air, and Jones the chilled-out entertainer has been a tetchy, wounded figure.
With no need for long-lens chicanery of the type causing a stink in the round-ball world, we know the teams.
South Africa: 15. Warrick Gelant, 14. S’Busiso Nkosi, 13. Jesse Kriel, 12. Andre Esterhuizen, 11. Aphiwe Dyantyi, 10. Elton Jantjies, 9. Faf de Klerk, 1. Tendai Mtawarira, 2. Chiliboy Ralepelle, 3. Fans Malherbe, 4 RG SNyman, 5. Franco Mostert, 6. Siya Kolisi (captain), 7. Pieter-Steph du Toit, 8. Duane Vermeulen
Replacements: 16 Schalk Brits, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Thomas du Toit, 19 Jean-Luc du Preez, 20 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Handre Pollard, 23 Willie le Roux
England: 15. Elliot Daly; 14. Jonny May, 13. Henry Slade, 12. Owen Farrell (captain), 11. M Brown, 10. Danny Cipriani, 9. Ben Youngs, 1. Joe Marler, 2. Jamie George, 3. Kyle Sinckler , 4. Joe Launchbury, 5. Maro Itoje, 6. Chris Robshaw, 7. Tom Curry, 8. Nathan Hughes.
Replacements: 16.
Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17. Alec Hepburn, 18. Harry Williams, 19. Jonny Hill, 20. Mark Wilson, 21. Sam Simmonds, 22. Ben Spencer, 23. Denny Solomona
The referee is Glen Jackson of New Zealand, the venue is Newlands in Cape Town.
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