England caught by stunning Boklash
ENGLAND slumped to a fourth successive Test defeat for the first time since 2014 after throwing away a 21-point lead in a mesmerising, bewildering, pulsating classic at Ellis Park.
Eddie Jones’ side briefly touched the stars, before being emphatically brought back down to earth. The visitors were 24-3 up after just 17 minutes. They scored three superb tries — by Mike Brown, Elliot Daly and Owen Farrell — and played rugby from the heavens.
George Ford pulled the strings and the home defence was led a merry dance, only for England to then unravel alarmingly.
A brace of tries by debutant wing S’Busiso Nkosi ignited the South African fightback and England simply could not turn the tables once they were under the cosh. They belatedly rallied as Maro Itoje and Jonny May touched down, but it was too little, too late.
They could take heart from the majesty of their early attacking play and their involvement in a sensational, raw and riveting occasion. But the stark fact is that this was another defeat to add to their Six Nations losses against Scotland, France and Ireland — not to mention a nine-try rout at the hands of the Barbarians late last month. These are troubled times. Prior to this result, England had a perfect record under Jones in the southern hemisphere — five wins from five Tests. They really needed to extend that run here, given the backdrop of poor results and growing unrest, but it wasn’t to be.
The rest of this series now looms as a daunting task and the wait for the revival goes on.
England’s management must somehow lift the shattered squad before next Saturday’s second Test which is back at high altitude in Bloemfontein, before the series finale in Cape Town. And they must do so knowing that South Africa will improve and grow in belief on the back of their display here yesterday.
Going into this match, the consensus was that the severely-weakened and raw home team were there for the taking, despite England having a long casualty list of their own. Instead, it turned into an epic triumph for new head coach Rassie Erasmus.
Siya Kolisi, the country’s first black captain was richly acclaimed by the fervent crowd.
It all began so hearteningly for those seeking evidence of an end to England’s mini-slump. Six years ago, they were buried under an early onslaught by South Africa. This time, the tables were turned and the manner of it was a sight to behold. Ford showed sublime class in orchestrating an electric spell of pressure and points, after Daly’s second-minute penalty from some 61 metres out.
Strike one came when May was sent clear down the right flank and passed inside to Henry Slade, who crashed into the Bok 22.
From the ruck, Ford and Farrell combined to release Brown, who burst through attempted tackles by Handre Pollard and Damian de Allende before twisting to score brilliantly. Farrell converted and England’s lead was into double figures.
Strike two saw Brown make ground in midfield and then again on the left after a sublime off-load by Slade. Ford then put May through with a clever, short-range pass and the wing sent the ball left for Daly to race over. Farrell converted again.
Strike three was sparked by a stunning long pass from Ford, allowing Slade to gallop into open space down the right. He simply drew the last defender and transferred the ball back in-field so that Farrell could canter under the posts.
The skipper added the extras again and, remarkably, the tourists were 24-3 up before the end of the first quarter.
But, after three strikes, it turned out the Boks were not out.
Far from it. England had merely poked the bear.
Erasmus had shown his ability to get his players believing in the cause during his time with Munster and his men finally came to life, running onto the ball with belief and purpose and the visitors were unable to shut them down.
They were undone by errors, poor decision-making and indiscipline which gifted the hosts a series of penalties.
Handre Pollard kicked three of these and the rest created a platform for a try spree.
De Klerk sniped through a gap and over for the first in the 20th minute and three more followed before the break. On the half-hour, Ben Youngs missed touch with a clearance kick and paid for the lapse.
De Klerk released De Allende who spun out of a tackle and passed on to Nkosi, he kicked ahead, Daly missed the ball behind his own line and Nkosi accepted the gift by arriving on cue to score.
All the momentum was with the Boks and six minutes before the break they struck again. Le Roux sent the ball wide left to Aphiwe Dyantyi and his quick pass back inside sent fellow wing Nkosi over for his second try.
England hauled off Nick Isiekwe, to be replaced by Brad Shields, but they had no respite from the onslaught. De Klerk darted away from a scrum and when the ball reached Le Roux, he was able to burst between Brown and Daly to score.
Farrell struck another penalty but the Boks continued to dominate after half time.
Mako Vunipola was sin-binned for a late charge on De Klerk and in his absence, Dyantyi scored in the left corner to make it 39-27.
When all hope appeared lost, there was a sudden, belated riposte as Itoje stretched over a ruck to score, before May delivered a solo masterpiece — storming out of his own half and slaloming through the defence to score a wonder try.
So England finished how they started, with attacking brilliance. But they lost. Again.