England succumbed to their fifth straight defeats to leave them facing an almighty challenge if they are to win a first series in South Africa after suffering a 42-39 loss in the first Test on Saturday, meaning they must win their remaining two matches.
In what turned into a 10-try thriller, England exploded out of the blocks and were 24-3 to the good in just 17 minutes thanks to tries from Mike Brown, Elliot Daly and Owen Farrell, but the fast start kicked the Springboks into life.
Back they fought with a smart try from Faf De Klerk, with the Sale Sharks scrum-half returning to the international team along with Willie Le Roux and Duane Vermuelen as new head coach Rassie Erasmus lifted the ban on overseas players.
It was a historical day too for captain Siya Kolisi, who became the first black captain of the Springboks, and he was giving his side an uplifting team talk immediately after a double from debutant S’busiso Nkosi – the first after a big error from Daly and the second through brilliant team play, while Le Roux added a fourth before the break to seal a 29-24 half-time lead.
England continued to struggle after the restart with the other wing, Aphiwe Dyantyi, crossing midway through the second half. But it triggered a fightback as first Maro Itoje and then Jonny May – the second a brilliant length of the field effort – brought England to within two points with two minutes remaining.
But Handre Pollard’s penalty kept the Springboks clear and secured a 1-0 advantage heading to the second Test next week in Bloemfontein.
So how did the players perform? Click on the gallery above to see how they rated.
