FULL-TIME, ENGLAND 20-29 SOUTH AFRICA! A magnificent performance from the Boks to hold out with one man down against a tough England side the pressed them hard. A magnificent performance from the Boks and all around a thoroughly entertaining game of rugby… but England will rue giving away four penalties in the last 10 minutes from great attacking positions. Hope you enjoyed following the action… and here's to a great sporting Sunday!
With the hooter having sounded, Reinach pulls the ball from the back of the scrum and kicks it out of play… and the Boks have won again!
Boks win the lineout but concede another penalty, but the hooter is coming soon… they can't score twice!
The Boks press into the 22, pushed back… the ball from the scrum is passed straight back to Pollard for a drop-kick… but it slides wide of the right post… but it eats up time ahead of the restart.
Boks push into the England half and are running the ball, into the maul and running… but now they have given away ANOTHER penalty. Pollard doesn't go for poles, instead kicking for a lineout just inside the England 22.
Chandler Cunningham-South getting some medical attention to his ankle… but he will continue.
England drive forward into the Bok half, past the 10m…but AGAIN they are blown for a penalty.
SILLY MISTAKE! England try a dummy throw and are penalised, Pollard kicking play upfield. England blown for a knock on and the Boks will feed the scrum just short of their 10m. Poor, poor play from England. Possibly should have kicked for poles… but they wasted a 5m lineout with a man advantage.
SILLY MISTAKE! England try a dummy throw and are penalised, Pollard kicking play upfield. England blown for a knock on and the Boks will feed the scrum just short of their 10m. Poor, poor play from England. Possibly should have kicked for poles… but they wasted a 5m lineout with a man advantage.
Boks penalised again, so the ref goes back for a penalty for offside, the ref warning Siya that the Boks are close to another yellow card…
YELLOW CARD, SOUTH AFRICA, STEENEKAMP! Not good news for the Boks, down to 14 men wit 12 minutes on the clock. England kick to the Boks 22 and win the lineout and drive at the Boks…
Boks charge forward but are held up and England kick play upfield.
CONVERSION, SOUTH AFRICA, POLLARD! 20-29; Absolutely magnificent kick from Pollard on the right touchline straight through the middle of the posts.
TRY, SOUTH AFRICA, KOLBE! 20-27; GREAT RUN from Damian de Allende, breaking through two tackles then passing wide to Kolbe, who beats his man and then turns on the after burners and sprints down the line and dives over in the corner for a superb try.
Slade kicks play up to 10m short of the Bok line an they win their lineout… the keep breaking from the back and trying to press forward, but the Boks drive them back to the 22… and England now are blown for a neckroll. Pollard kicks play comfortably upfield.
England hoist a high ball into the Bok half…Fassi rises to take it… the Boks press forward… but there's contact in the aid and England have a penalty.
PENALTY, SOUTH AFRICA, POLLARD! 20-22; Pollard's kick is on line… IT HITS THE CROSSBAR… but bounces over, and South Africa are in the lead again!
Now the Boks are penalised for an arm pulling an opponent in the lineout… and from a Boks scrum inside the England 22 we're now lining out near the Bok 22.
Now the Boks are penalised for an arm pulling an opponent in the lineout… and from a Boks scrum inside the England 22 we're now lining out near the Bok 22.
A problem scrum and England are given a penalty and a chance to clear the danger. Poor play from the Boks. 'Discipline'!
South Africa press forward and win a scrum inside the England 22…
PENALTY, ENGLAND, SMITH! 20-19; Nothing in it from 15m. to the. left of the poles and inside the Boks 22. With the green giants hit back hard and fast?
England powering forward at the Boks again… a high ball and the Boks look to run but are blown for obstruction in the 22. They'll take the kick for the one-point lead, Samantha.
England power over in the left corner thanks to a long pass out… but the TMO is looking at some foul play in the maul, and there could also be a forward pass… NO TRY for the neck roll. Jamie George has a thousand words for the referee… but it breaks both ways mate.
England try to bash through the Boks, they make it to the 5m… burst through and are held up 1mm from their goal… they're short of the line but the Boks are holding them up…
England awarded two penalties on the bounce as they press upfield on the Boks and past their 10m. Smith kicks for touch and finds it. Pollard comes on for Libbok, and Marx is on for Mbonambi.
Boks run the line then maul… then they run to the wing, drawing Englishmen twice, and then KURT-LEE ARENDSE gets a pass from Fassi and screams down the line and over for the try in the corner…but the TMO shows the ref a forward pass and a great pass is scrubbed from the history books. Spoilsports.
Boks straight on the attack, Wiese crossing the English 22 with an Englishman pulling him back on his jersey… the ball is passed around and Kolbe slips an English pass, dashes into the 22, half eludes an Englishman but is brought down. England clear up to their 10m.
KICK-OFF! The Boks restart the second half with a kick into the England half…
HALF-TIME, ENGLAND 17-19 SOUTH AFRICA! What a ding-dong battle… great play from both sides, great forward play and superb attacking. South Africa's wings and Libbok have been terrific, but what a half from Smith, kicking with precision and running the ball like a dynamo. DO NOT miss the second half…. we'll have it for you in a couple of minutes!
HALF-TIME, ENGLAND 17-19 SOUTH AFRICA! What a ding-dong battle… great play from both sides, great forward play and superb attacking. South Africa's wings and Libbok have been terrific, but what a half from Smith, kicking with precision and running the ball like a dynamo. DO NOT miss the second half…. we'll have it for you in a couple of minutes!
JUST WIDE! Libbok's kick slips just wide, and England kick into touch. Boks win the lineout and run the ball, but Etzebeth fumbles on his knees… England kick to touch and the ref puts the whistle to his lips.
The ref has had enough and blows England up, Marne Libbok kicking into touch upfield and finding touch on his 10m… the Boks run forward, Libbok chips, England catch… but they are blown and Libbok will kick for poles from just in front of the halfway line but right in front with just a minute on the clock…
The two front rows exchange words as England look to gain some unfair advantage. The ref has strong words for them as he stops the clock and repeats 'discipline… discipline'.
A couple of kicks rain back and forth, England finally gaining an advantage and chipping near to the Boks' 5m, Libbok guiding Freeman out to touch… but there's a knockon from the Englishman and the Boks will scrum on their 5m.
England kick back to South Africa down the wing, and Kolbe spirals a beautiful kick into touch near the England 10m.
The Boks kick England back, the hosts charge back up at them, putting them under pressure… Smith gets the ball and makes a great run to elude Kolisi, only to run into Fassi, who brings the Englishman to ground. Ox Nche has a cut to his knee and is off to see to it. Boks with a clearance dropkick from under their posts.
Boks press forward and WILLIAMS again breaks the England line and charges towards the England 22 before being brought to ground, England clearing the ball back upfield and winning a penalty, and choosing the lineout.
CONVERSION, ENGLAND, SMITH! 17-19; Smith is kicking like a champion, slotting it from 20m right of the poles and it's a two-point game. The English fans start singing, their voices echoing around Twickenham… can't quite make out what they're singing…
TRY, ENGLAND, UNDERHILL! 15-19; Underhill timed his run perfectly and powered through three Boks tacklers and over for the try.
England plow forward at the Boks into their 22, Maro Itoje driving for the line, only to be picked up and carried two metres backwards, but England slip the ball in for Underhill who runs at a gap in the Boks defence…
CONVERSION, SOUTH AFRICA, LIBBOK! 10-19; Lovely kick from Libbok puts the Boks nine points ahead.
SHORT LINEOUT and the Boks push forward… ball out to Libbok the Legendary playmaker… with the penalty advantage he kicks crossfield to the right wing where Kolbe catches it, slips past the England winger trying to stop him, and waltzes over for a try 12m in from the right touchline. What a stunning bit of rugby from the Boks.
Boks piling on the pressure and win a penalty just short of the England 5m… LIbbok kicks for the lineout…
OFF THE POST! Libbok's conversion attempts from on the touchline is looking good… then bad… then good… but it smacks the near post and bounces infield. Tough kick.
TRY, SOUTH AFRICA, DU TOIT! 10-12; GREAT FIGHTBACK FROM THE BOKS! Eben Etzebeth charges down the clearance kick from just ahead of the England 22… then Pieter-Steph du Toit does the same from closer to the wing, following up and diving over in the corner. Magnificent pressure from the pair of forwards.
PENALTY, ENGLAND, SMITH! 10-7; Knocked over without a sweat.
South Africa penalised just short of their 22 and 7m to the left of poles. Smith will kick.
CONVERSION, SOUTH AFRICA, LIBBOK! 7-77; No problem from under the posts.
TRY, SOUTH AFRICA, WILLIAMS! 7-5; WHAT A SENSATIONAL SOLO TRY FROM WILLIAMS!! The scrumhalf ran from the base of the scrum, breaking through a double England tackle… he screamed into the 22… Steward between him and the tryline… but he jinked left and then pushed right… and Steward was left looking for the waiter as Williams slipped past him on the right and dived over for the try under the posts with an Englishman trying to hold his ankles! Magnificent rugby from the Springbok!
Boks win the lineout just over the halfway line and run at England… two phases then Libbok launches a kick for Arendse… the players are mauling just past of the England 22…
Boks kick forward from the scrum, England reply in kind and follow it up, but Steward is blown for playing it on the ground and Libbok has a penalty kick to push play upfield.
England push South Africa back, Snyman rises high to win the lineout, ball back to Libbok who slices his clearance kick sideways… South Africa recover and will feed the scrum just inside their 22.
CONVERSION, ENGLAND, SMITH! 7-0; Smith runs it close with the shot clock, but knocks his kick through the posts, but I fancy a touch closer to the left post than he might have envisioned.
TRY, ENGLAND, SLEIGHTHOLME! 5-0; Lovely play from England, Marcus Smith changing direction from the England scrum and running to the left wing, pass to draw the man, who himself draws a man to Ollie Sleightholme a 10m run through to the Boks ingoal area, and he dives over for the try 20m to the left of the poles. Great play and great start from England!
England with a cross-kick from Smith to his wing who collects and grubbers into the Bok 22… Kolbe doing well to collect and kick for the line.
Knock-on from the Springboks and England will feed the scrum.
KICK-OFF! We're underway here at Twickenham, South Africa collecting England's kick and hoofing it back upfield.
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland). Assistant referees: Chris Busby (Ireland), Eoghan Cross (Ireland). TMO: Ben Whitehouse (Wales).
South Africa: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 RG Snyman, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche. Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Elrigh Louw, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Handre Pollard, 23 Lukhanyo Am.
England: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Henry Slade, 11 Ollie Sleightholme, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Jack van Poortvliet, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Chandler Cunningham-South, 5 George Martin, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Jamie George (captain), 1 Ellis Genge. Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Fin Baxter, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Nick Isiekwe, 20 Alex Dombrandt; 21 Harry Randall, 22 George Ford, 23 Tom Roebuck.
In England's last match they were ahead against Australia until three minutes past the hooter, when Australia snatched a dramatic win with a great team try.
England might have lost a lot of their recent matches, but they were leading in six of their recent defeats. Four of these losses saw England leading with just 5 minutes to play, while two saw England leading with 20 minutes to play. Beware the Bomb Squad, Roses!
In their last five meetings, England have won two matches and the Boks have won three… and with quite a tight average scoreline of 16-22 in favour of the Boks.
South Africa have won four of their last five games, including two wins over New Zealand, a win over Argentina and a win over Scotland last weekend. Their only loss was three matches ago to Argentina, when a rotated Bok squad lost 28-29 away after Manie Libbok's late penalty skidded wide of the poles.
After smashing Wales 52-17 away from home, England went on to lose their next four games in a row… three against New Zealand, and last week's last-gasp loss to Australia.
South Africa: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 RG Snyman, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche. Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Elrigh Louw, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Handre Pollard, 23 Lukhanyo Am.
England: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Henry Slade, 11 Ollie Sleightholme, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Jack van Poortvliet, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Chandler Cunningham-South, 5 George Martin, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Jamie George (captain), 1 Ellis Genge. Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Fin Baxter, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Nick Isiekwe, 20 Alex Dombrandt; 21 Harry Randall, 22 George Ford, 23 Tom Roebuck.
Here are the teams that were announced on Friday.
Good evening and welcome to our live coverage of the rugby international between England and South Africa, brought to you live from Twickenham Stadium in London.
England vs South Africa!!!!