When it got ugly the Boks were the prettiest

By Lucky Vince Pienaar

➤ With minutes to go:

“England are in for a tough night.”

Those are the words of Nic Mallet in the studio, echoed by just about every expert – South African or English – before the match.

South Africa seems to have no weaknesses except for over-confidence. If they slip on a banana peel tonight, it will be because of arrogance.

1st half:

The moment of truth comes after a mere 90 seconds: the first scrum. England do better than expected, and a run down the left-hand side puts them immediately in an attacking position.

Marcus Smith runs across the field and hands the ball down the line for wing Ollie Sleightholme to score – the best possible start for England. (Eng 7-0 SA 4min)

Manie Libbok’s first kick in open play actually goes backwards.

Then Grant Williams does what Jaden Hendrikse never came close to doing last week: he breaks through the backline, swerves around Freddie Steward and scores under the posts. (Eng 7-7 SA 12min)

Pieter-Steph du Toit concedes a maul penalty that Marcus Smith slots to give England the lead, but immediately afterwards, a charge-down from Eben Etzebeth gives Pieter-Steph a try in the corner. (Eng 10-12 SA 15min)

Libbok misses that conversion, but a minute later, the Boks are back on the attack.

Is England fighting for survival already? It looks like it.

Libbok does what he does best: a cross-kick into the hands of Cheslin Kolbe. For the second time in minutes, a Bok swerves past poor Freddie Steward to score. Libbok adds the extras. (Eng 10-19 SA 23min)

Aphelele Fassi is very lucky to get away with a very ugly neck-roll as England seems to recover. Yes, Sam Underhill scores a beautiful forward try. England have not given up. (Eng 17-19 SA 25min)

For the next 15 minutes, it’s all about the aerial battle, which Steward seems to win, but the score doesn’t change.

From the halfway line, Libbok lines up a penalty . . . and he sends it wide. It’s halftime, and hopefully, it’s Pollard time.

2nd half:

Coach Steve Borthwick has clearly picked the right strategy. Do his players have the muscle to make it work? We find out in the next 40 minutes.

The Boks start well but concede two penalties within seconds.

Pollard comes on for Libbok (phew!), but Williams stays on. At the 47th minute, the famous Bok defence is tested, and England scores. But the great Maro Itoje does a neck-roll on Malcolm Marx, and the try is chalked off.

Now is the time for England to fall apart, but nobody gave them the message. Their relentless attack leads to a well-deserved penalty. (Eng 20-19 SA 52min)

South Africa needs some magic – and now!

Pollard steps up to take a penalty. “We’ve seen this movie before,” says the commentator. The ball actually bounces on the crossbar and then tips over. (Eng 20-22 SA 58min)

Marx and Kwagga combine for a great turnover that leads to Damian de Allende breaking the advantage line, and Kolbe does the necessary. Pollard (of course) nails the difficult conversion. (Eng 20-29 SA 63min)

It’s the work of the Springbok forwards that is so far keeping England away from the try line, but a card against Gerhard Steenekamp may swing the match England’s way.

South Africa defends inches from the line, but the Boks are inches away from another yellow card.

Suddenly England are jittery. They’ve lost their shape, and it could cost them the game.

With a minute to go, Steward is forced to kick for touch. The match is all but won for South Africa now. The final whistle goes. Again, England lose at Twickenham.

England (2 tries) 20-29 (4 tries) South Africa
England tries: Ollie Sleightholme, Sam Underhill
SA tries: Grant Williams, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Cheslin Kolbe (2).

Pictured above: Cheslin Kolbe running through.

Source: Springboks/X

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