England v Springboks: Five takeaways as 'wholesale changes ...

Following the Springboks’ 20-29 victory over England, here are our five takeaways from the Autumn Nations Series clash at Twickenham Stadium.

Another thriller at Twickenham saw South Africa deliver an uncharacteristically undisciplined display, but ultimately, the brilliance of Cheslin Kolbe and a phenomenal assault by the Boks at England’s breakdown in the last quarter saw England record their third loss of November and their seventh defeat in 11 matches in 2024.

It was a case of déjà vu for the hosts as once again they simply fell apart in the last period of the match, unable to leverage a one-man advantage and hamstrung by the predictable lack of impact of an underpowered bench.

Jamie George commented post-match that they were an intelligent side who will keep growing, but the simple truth is that they have lost five consecutive matches in the last quarter through ineptitude off the bench and a scary propensity to freeze in the face of a prospect of victory.

But in mitigation, they faced the best in the game at Twickenham; the world champions on a roll of form and in their most muscular frame of mind. Kolbe showed why he’s up there amongst the greatest of all time on the wing, as his clearing kicks destroyed England in the first half and his flying feet killed them off in the second.

With Pieter-Steph du Toit and Eben Etzebeth underlining their status as Springbok legends, as hard as England tried they simply couldn’t break through the defensive shackles and breakdown pressure of the visitors, and whilst there were many moments of hope, England remain a rugby frustration, an enigmatic mixture of naivety, self-inflicted pressure and, when given a platform, attacking brilliance at times.

Worst of all, they appear not to be learning from their errors in the previous two matches and, despite the magnificence of Marcus Smith at ten, the appetite for contact and conflict from their back five, the team and their coaching staff are making decisions that are costing them Test matches.

Things have to change.

For South Africa, they made a meal of this game, delivering an uncharacteristically indisciplined display at the breakdown, as they haemorrhaged 14 penalties and got little change from the starting set-piece until both they and England unloaded the benches.

The back row duel was one of epic proportions as the sheer physicality of the Boks met some real resistance from the outstanding Sam Underhill (bizarrely replaced after 61 minutes), Chandler Cunningham-South and Ben Earl. However, the pressure down the flanks of the breakdown from Etzebeth and Du Toit threatened to overcome England and resulted in a try for the latter as both men charged down England’s halfbacks’ clearances in the space of ten seconds, and as much as England toiled and tried, they simply didn’t get the tangible returns from their industry that the Boks managed.

The Springboks will be disappointed in their return from the scrum for the first 60 minutes, and even more remarkably, England shaded their opponents in the line out with a return of 89% against the South African 81%.

Springboks also need to thank their wonderful prop stocks; in the second half, with their replacement loosehead Gerhard Steenekamp carded and Ox Nche injured, Erasmus had two choices – play with 13 or ask Vincent Koch to move to loosehead. The brilliant Koch didn’t need asking twice and delivered an almighty effort to give Dan Cole a torrid time in a moment that England should have seized.

But big games turn on big moments and the metres made by each side tell a story of efficiency over effort – the Springboks made 326m from 88 carries, light years ahead of England’s return of 229m from 88; the brilliant Kolbe was responsible for 136 of those metres, over a third of his side’s tally, as once again, the diminutive winger tore up the turf of an international rugby stadium.

Springboks show champion qualities as Cheslin Kolbe scores twice to beat England and pile more pressure on Steve Borthwick

It was a mixed bag for England’s returning players, Underhill, Freddie Steward and Jack van Poorvliet.

On the plus side, Underhill was magnificent, hammering anything that came his way in his indomitable style, but showing his critics that he’s bolted on a new level of ambition and skill in his carrying, crossing for his second Test try and offering continuity as a link man. It wasn’t the number of hits but the sheer power in his first up-tackling, closing down any avenue that South Africa decided to take near to his formidable frame. Couple some wonderful turnovers and with Earl in rumbustious form alongside him, England might have 99 problems but seven and eight aren’t two of them. Earl may be blamed, alongside Slade, for the missed tackle on Damian de Allende but it was a strong outing otherwise.

Steward summed up England’s up-and-down game, getting absolutely skinned one on one by Grant Williams as the scrum-half stepped Genge and Martin and then left the England full-back for dead in a piece of individual brilliance. But, Steward brings aerial surety to the England backline, plus an ability to return catch on his own kicks.

However, at nine, Van Poortvleit will wake up with nightmares of Etzebeth creeping down the side of a maul. The Tigers’ scrum half was pressured to breaking point by the work of the Boks’ backrow, with Etzebeth’s work in traffic redefining the concept of the Congestion Charge, as his clearing, coupled with some glacial passing work, hampered England’s efforts greatly.

Springboks player ratings: ‘World-class’ Cheslin Kolbe ‘rips’ England to shreds as the bench ‘proves’ to be the difference again

Alongside the players returning, Smith put in another display of fly-half wizardry, his vision creating so much for England with variety and huge intelligence. He’s obviously been rewatching New Zealand versus England as his dummy drop goal and then an attack down the short side against the grain was right out of the Beauden Barrett playbook and allowed Ollie Sleightholme to cross for a thrilling try.

The impish Quin was so wonderfully playful all afternoon, the outstanding English back on the pitch as he opened his entire toolbox of kicks, feints and dummies, coupled with some blistering acceleration at times. In short, he was absolutely world-class and he has silenced any debate around the England ten shirt.

At tighthead, Will Stuart has turned a corner this season. He saw off the great Nche, splitting the seam in the first scrum and continuing to show immense improvement in a position of serious concern for England. And it wasn’t just his scrummaging- in defence the Bath man hit 10 massive tackles, really showing his worth in what was an outstanding display from a player starting to mature into a fine prop. Sure, there were a couple of penalties against him, but all in all, he came out of this match greatly in credit.

Alongside Steward at the back, both Freeman and Sleightholme had some telling interventions with ball in hand and in the aerial battle, Sleightholme showing once more his ability to make things happen with sheer personal invention.

However, once again Henry Slade showed that at Test level, his biggest contribution is the mastery of the hospital pass, as on three occasions his unwillingness to take contact and recycle saw Ollie Lawrence smashed on the breakdown in some schoolboy handling moments from the England 12. Yes, he was key in the opening try but once again Slade showed his inability to transform club form into the international arena.

With Lawrence, Earl and George Martin putting in some hugely physical moments both sides of the ball that was a lot to like about this English showing although there will be concerns about Ellis Genge’s showing in both defence and in the tight, and once again, his inability to stay up on the hit.

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The match started with a display of lasers that rocked the stadium, but by the end of the game, England fans could be forgiven for wondering if their coaching team should be facing a firing squad after yet another gallant failure.

The frustration of continually getting so close to victory yet failing at the last hurdle has to be affecting England mentally. As a match progresses, they look like a team whose confidence erodes with every tick of the clock and today was no different.

There has to be wholesale changes by England – if the coaches aren’t prepared to do it of their own volition, then perhaps it’s time for them to reconsider their position. Five consecutive losses in precisely the same manner smack of a lack of learning and a lack of honesty from the backroom team and the players themselves.

For the Boks, it’s a case of capturing the good and tightening up the bad. This performance was possibly less impressive than last weekend in Scotland and in Erasmus’ favour, he has huge competition within his squad. He’ll move forward from a position of strength and depth and it will be interesting to see the next instalment of the Springbok November tour as they look to face Wales in Cardiff next Saturday.

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