In the final throes in Johannesburg, England’s bench watched from their flimsy plastic chairs on the sideline with a familiar feeling. The legs almost snapped under the weight of George Martin, whose powerful carries led to nothing.
The findings of the RFU’s Six Nations review felt piecemeal. Keep everyone the pitch was one of their big instructions, yet England finished the match with 13 players.
Yellow cards to Guy Pepper and Tommy Freeman killed off any dreams of a revival. England were buried 10-feet under at 1,753m above sea level. The only saving grace was Jesse Kriel’s late try was ruled out to save Steve Borthwick from a 50-point humiliation.
Life for England’s head coach is not getting any easier. The rugby public have little patience for Borthwick who will fly home mulling over a fifth successive defeat. If he does not turn things around against Fiji and Argentina then another painful review will be waiting.
This was the chance to silence his critics. Opportunity knocked against a Springbok team missing half-a-dozen frontline locks. England put up a fight in the second quarter but their hopes of an upset disappeared into the dark skies of the highveld.
Questions must be asked about their woeful start. They kicked away possession and found themselves 17-0 down withing 12 minutes. Cheslin Kolbe’s punished Cadan Murley with his thunderbolt of a sidestep and the Springboks reminded England that they are a long way behind.
England players look dejected after taking a heavy beating by South Africa at Ellis Park
If South African hooker Malcolm Marx was able to hit his targets at the lineout then the damage would have been even greater.
Two tries before half time, through Ellis Genge and Martin, pulled the score back to 17-14. This was Martin’s first Test since the 2025 Six Nations and the heavyweight lock was one of the few positives to come out of this.
One the drive from their team hotel in Sandton, England’s players witnessed first-hand what brings the Springboks together. It was a journey through the country’s troubled history.
Weaving between taxi vans owned by gangs, passing Apartheid graveyards, poverty visible at almost every traffic light stop. But sport is the country’s beaming light. The nation stopped at 5.45pm local time, united behind their team.
This is the ground where Nelson Mandela presented the Webb Ellis Trophy to Francois Pienaar in 1995 and England have not won here since. Motivation is never far away and the South Africans went to work in the second half.
The thin air of the highveld squeezed English lungs. They struggled to get to grips with the new maul interpretations. Defenders are no longer allowed to swim up the side of the maul and Borthwick’s pack conceded a brace of penalties in the second half.
The set-piece had pulled England back into the match, avoiding a South African scrummaging humiliation. Yet they lacked depth on the bench to go for the full 80 minutes. South Africa won the aerial contest and England rued missed chances in the 22.
Grant Williams sniped from a ruck to score, showcasing the dazzling speed that leaves the rest of the rugby world green with envy. Kriel scored next and his side moved three scores clear going into the final quarter.
South Africa ran away with the game and Jamie George said England are ‘gutted’ by the result
Pulling up to the stadium, every corner had been taken over by roadside braais. The locals cooked their steaks on makeshift barbeques and a whiff of smoke filled the air.
The locals were fuelled up on brandy and cokes, ready to deliver a hostile welcome for Henry Pollock when his name was read out. ‘When Henry Pollock walks onto this park, YOU MAKE HIM FEEL IT,’ shouted the stadium announcer.
Pollock was given the opportunity to put his name in lights in the final quarter, greeted by a chorus of boos as he bounced off the bench. He was pile-driven into the ground by Zach Porthen and England never looked like a team who would find a way back.
Alex Coles scored a try but yellow cards to Freeman and Pepper left the tourists on an exercise of damage limitation. Marx and BJ Dixon scored with ease in the dying stages, leaving a scoreline that Borthwick cannot hide from.
‘We’re gutted with the result because we genuinely believed we could come here and win,’ said England captain Jamie George. ‘Talking to the South African players afterwards they know they’ve been in a Test match. We’re going to be a significantly better team off the back of this experience.’
This humiliation may force Borthwick to throw Benhard Janse van Rensburg straight into the starting team next week, to add more punch to England’s midfield. George Furbank pulled out because of emergency appendix surgery and he will now face a spell on the sideline
England have a 25,000-mile journey across three continents over the next fortnight. It is time for Borthwick to start finding solutions quickly, or people will begin question where his team are heading.
