The street preacher outside Twickenham warned passers-by to prepare for the end of days. He was referring to a religious apocalypse, but he may as well have been talking about England’s challenge against Springboks.
Pulling along a giant speaker, he pleaded with swarms of thousands to find a saviour. Perhaps the English fans should have stopped to listen. They have now lost five in a row. Steve Borthwick’s team blew another lead and this grey, old arena is starting to feel like a place of mourning.
England were outsmarted, outmuscled and outplayed. Borthwick has the board’s backing to turn things around – the RFU hierarchy must back him for their own self-preservation – but his popularity points in these quarters are tumbling by the week.
In the final throes, England panicked, running into walls forged with township steel. They have spirit and stardust – particularly in their sometime saviour Marcus Smith – yet they repeatedly fold in the high-pressure moments. South Africa were down to 14-men but, yet again, Borthwick was unable to find a hand to change the narrative.
They ran into giant South African jaws which chewed them up like biltong.
Even the South African fans walking by the preacher on Whitton Road seemed bigger than their English numbers. London’s Afrikaner contingent, pockets full of dried meat, made the pilgrimage to see their own messiah, Rassie Erasmus. Twickenham felt like a mini-Johannesburg.
World champions South Africa beat England in an epic Test match at Twickenham on Saturday
England scored the first try of the game when Ollie Sleightholme (centre) crossed the line
Sleightholme’s try was set up by Marcus Smith (pictured), who then successfully converted it
Before kick-off, they were entertained by a laser show and the sight of Marcus Smith practising his drop goals. Freddie Steward caught high-balls and the pack went through their scrummaging drills. There were no secrets about what was coming. Or were there?
The very first ruck had the look of a Greco-Roman wrestling bout as George Martin grappled with Bongi Mbonambi and RG Snyman. The hits were loaded with hot sauce. Siya Kolisi read a pass to Ben Earl and folded England’s No 8 in two. England rolled with the punches and Smith shaped up for an early drop-goal, just like he did under the eyes of Erasmus during the warm-up.
Three points? Think again. Smith spotted space down the blind-side, dummied his kick and skipped around the outside of a plodding Ox Nche. Ollie Sleighthome was waiting on the sideline and his clinical finish gave the hosts an early lead. Smith has been England’s standout player in their series of defeats but there are only so many tricks he can pull out of his hat.
Borthwick went win-or-bust with his selection. None of this played into the narrative of layering upon England’s attack. He did not recall Freddie Steward for his abilities to run the ball from deep and dazzle the fans who have forked out hundreds of pounds on tickets. It was a plan to dominate the skies and plunge the Springboks deeper and deeper through an aerial onslaught.
Steward reminded everyone of his world-class abilities under the high ball but that alone was not enough. Arendse beat Smith to a high-ball and South Africa ran at a scrambling defence. Grant Williams, showing fleet of foot around the ruck, darted between Martin and Ellis Genge before landing a try-scoring side-step that left Steward spinning like a revolving door.
Smith kept the scoreboard moving with a penalty but South Africa’s pack, with their giant limbs, wreaked havoc on the English half-backs. Eben Etzebeth got a giant paw on Jack van Poortvliet’s box-kick and Pieter Steph du Toit charged down Smith to score from the very next phase. Screening the scrum-half at the back of the ruck has been outlawed and South Africa’s rangy monsters were up-to-date on the law book.
After 23 minutes, the world champions had a third. Libbok sent a crossfield kick to Cheslin Kolbe who showed the magical footwork that has made him one of the game’s greats. He spotted Steward’s giant shadow charging towards him, desperately trying to scramble, but hot-stepped the full-back on landing as the floodgates seemed to open.
Revenge was in the air at Twickenham. Bad blood remains from last year’s World Cup semi-final, when Bongi Mbonambi was cleared of calling Tom Curry a ‘white c***’. Curry has been absent from training this week due to concussion but, once the cameras had been packed away, he was spotted leaving England’s captain’s run at Twickenham on Friday afternoon. His presence alone would have been enough to stir up the emotions.
But South Africa turned the game around and were ahead before the half-time interval
Cheslin Kolbe scored two tries for the visitors in a highly entertaining Test match in London
Kolbe, who plays his club rugby in Tokyo, celebrated his second try by pointing to the sky
England head coach Steve Borthwick has now seen his side lose five consecutive Test matches
England rallied, as they usually do. Twickenham has become a neutral’s paradise, never short of drama. Loose play by Libbok invited the hosts back into the game, with one of the No 10’s kicks going backwards. England attacked from a lineout. Maro Itoje was picked up like a rag doll, but they made ground by boxing smart with clever running angles. Martin pumped his legs, six phases of close-quarter carries, carrying, before Underhill stretched over to score.
Libbok missed a penalty just before half-time and he was replaced by Handre Pollard soon after. Arendse had a try ruled out for a forward pass before Henry Slade suffered the same fate when a neck-roll was spotted at the ruck. Yet Smith kicked the hosts in front and, approaching the final quarter, England once again had victory in sight.
In recent weeks, Borthwick’s use of his replacements has been Gareth Southgate-esque. Low risk, pulling back the chips, playing not to lose. Much like the frustrating sights from this summer’s Euros when Cole Palmer and Anthony Gordon were twitching on the bench when the clock wound down.
This time he kept Smith in the fly-half role but the replacements made no impact. Smith’s penalty was their only points of the half. Pollard moved the Boks back in front with a penalty, before Damian de Allende ran through a weak tackle by Earl and Slade to set up a try for Kolbe.
Gerhard Steenkamp was sin-binned for the final 10 minutes and England had a chance to show their mettle. Yet they butchered their opportunities, turning down three pointers as they failed to work the scoreboard. Where South Africa thrived in adversity, England seemed to shrink. They lost lineouts, fumbling balls and being counter-rucked off their own ball. And there was nothing the wings, prayers or Borthwick could do about it.
