England beaten by South Africa
England were beaten 13-27 by South Africa in their final Autumn Nations Series Test.
A Henry Slade try and eight points from the boot of Owen Farrell were not enough to compete with a strong Springbok side, who claimed their first victory over England at Twickenham since 2014.
Both teams had kickable penalty opportunities in the early stages, but Faf de Klerk fired his effort left of the uprights, and Farrell missed his first of the Autumn Nations Series - their next attempts were successful though - making it 3-3 after 20 minutes on the clock.
Damian Willemse bagged a drop goal on 33 minutes, and from the restart the fly half was catalyst behind the game's first try. Attacking the right flank and squaring up an English defender he offloaded into the path of Willie Le Roux, who hit Kurt-Lee Arendse, and the wing showed neat footwork to round Marcus Smith and canter over the whitewash.
Jacques Nienaber's side struck in the final play of the half, as de Klerk bagged his second penalty, handing South Africa a 3-14 lead at the break. The stats after 40 minutes did not flatter England, as the visitors boasted 64% possession, carried for 138 more metres, beat more defenders and made more clean breaks.
Willemse slotted another drop goal two minutes into the game's resumption, but Farrell answered with his second penalty of the Test moments later, reducing the deficit to 11 points.
Tom Curry was shown a yellow card on 48 minutes, and South Africa took immediate advantage of the extra man, scoring through second row Eben Etzebeth - de Klerk's successful extras were followed by a 50 metre penalty minutes later, making it 6-27.
Replacement Thomas du Toit was shown a red card on the hour mark for a shoulder charge to the head of hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie, and though England tried to chase the scoreline, the Springbok defence stood firm and repelled each surge toward their line.
The hosts sprung to life in the final 10 minutes, Jack Nowell collecting a well-weighted Farrell cross field kick, and going deep into the opposition's territory. Keeping tempo high, replacement scrum half Ben Youngs was quick to tap a penalty awarded by referee Angus Gardner, and after a handful of positive carries, he shipped it to Henry Slade. The Exeter Chief had options outside him, but tucked the ball under his arm and charged over for England's first try.
Farrell's conversion made it 13-27 but with only seven minutes left in the Test, it was too late to mount a comeback.
Reaction
Owen Farrell: "It's not worked out for us today, we were not able to show the best of ourselves. We had a lack of accuracy at times, and a lack of bite at times. The game was very slow at the start which they are very good at, and we didn't sink our teeth into anything. We need to be better in those situations."
Manu Tuilagi: "It was a tough game. We wanted to attack the game which I thought we did at the start, but fair play to the Springboks, they were tough and physical, they put us under a lot of pressure and forced us to make mistakes and they capitalised. The plan was clear, but South Africa are a quality side. We were not good enough today, and we have to take it on the chin."
Teams
England
15. Freddie Steward, 14. Tommy Freeman, 13. Manu Tuilagi, 12. Owen Farrell (C), 11. Jonny May, 10. Marcus Smith, 9. Jack van Poortvliet, 1. Mako Vunipola, 2. Jamie George, 3. Kyle Sinckler, 4. Maro Itoje, 5. Jonny Hill, 6. Alex Coles, 7. Tom Curry, 8. Billy Vunipola
Finishers
16. Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17. Ellis Genge, 18. Will Stuart, 19. David Ribbans, 20. Sam Simmonds, 21. Ben Youngs, 22. Henry Slade, 23. Jack Nowell
South Africa
15. Willie le Roux, 14. Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13. Jesse Kriel, 12. Damian de Allende, 11. Makazole Mapimpi, 10. Damian Willemse, 9. Faf de Klerk, 1. Ox Nche, 2. Bongi Mbonambi, 3. Frans Malherbe, 4. Eben Etzebeth, 5. Marvin Orie, 6. Siya Kolisi (C), 7. Franco Mostert, 8. Evan Roos
Replacements
16. Malcolm Marx, 17. Steven Kitshoff, 18. Thomas du Toit, 19. Marco van Staden, 20. Kwagga Smith, 21. Jaden Hendrikse, 22. Manie Libbok, 23. Canan Moodie.
Autumn Nations Series Results
England 13 - 27 South Africa
