England's autumn series misery continued as South Africa claimed a 29-20 victory at Twickenham.
Steve Borthwick's side suffered heartbreaking late losses to New Zealand and Australia over the past two weekends and they led twice here – initially through Ollie Sleightholme's early try and then via a second-half penalty from Marcus Smith.
But in truth, it often felt like they were hanging on to the coattails of the powerhouse back-to-back world champions, for whom Cheslin Kolbe ran in a brace of tries.
A yellow card for replacement prop Gerhard Steenekamp left South Africa a man down for most of the final 10 minutes but England could not make a further impression against a resolute defence as they went down to a fifth consecutive defeat.
Sleightholme's early score, created when Smith brilliantly dummied the drop goal to outfox the Springbok, was swiftly cancelled out when scrum-half Grant Williams darted into a gap between front rows Ellis Genge and Jamie George.
Smith was the architect of England's best moments and kicked half of his side's points, but he had a clearance charged down by Pieter-Steph du Toit and the flanker bustled over the line before Kolbe got in on the act.
At that point, it looked like the game might run away from England but Sam Underhill hit a brilliant line coming off a ruck to dot down and Smith's unerring boot edged them ahead.
South Africa's own expert from the tee, Handre Pollard came off the bench to ping a kick over via the crossbar and he converted from Kolbe's magnificent second score as the final quarter against high-class opposition once again proved to be beyond England.
England vs. South Africa final score
| Fulltime | Tries (Conv.) | Penalties | |
| England | 20 | Sleightholme (Smith), Underhill (Smith) | Smith x2 |
| South Africa | 29 | Williams (Libbok), Du Toit, Kolbe x2 (Libbok, Pollard) | Pollard |
Confirmed starting XVs:
England: 15. Freddie Steward, 14. Tommy Freeman, 13. Ollie Lawrence, 12. Henry Slade, 11. Ollie Sleightholme, 10. Marcus Smith, 9. Jack van Poortvliet; 1. Ellis Genge, 2. Jamie George (c), 3. Will Stuart, 4. Maro Itoje, 5. George Martin, 6. Chandler Cunningham-South, 7. Sam Underhill, 8. Ben Earl
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
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; 1. Ox Nche, 2. Bongi Mbonami, 3. Wilco Louw, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 5 RG Snyman, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 8 Jasper Wiese
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
MORE: Full schedule and results for November internationals
England vs. South Africa stats, head-to-head record
Full match stats will appear here after full-time.
Head to head
These teams have now met 56 times in official matches dating back to 1909.
| England wins | Draws | South Africa wins |
| 16 | 2 | 28 |
England vs. South Africa live stream, TV channel
England:
- TV Channel: TNT Sports 1
- Live Stream: discovery+
This 2024 Autumn Nations Series match is being shown live and exclusively on TV via TNT Sports, with their main channel TNT Sports 1 broadcasting the action live from Twickenham as well as a full build-up and analysis after the match.
TNT Sports' TV feed is also providing the broadcast for discovery+ in their live and catch-up streaming of the match, with new users able to sign up now in time to catch the action.
New subscribers can currently sign up for a FREE seven-day trial of discovery+.
Australia:
- TV Channel: –
- Live Stream: Stan Sport
While this match isn't being shown on free-to-air or cable TV in Australia, rugby union fans can still tune into the action either live or on catch-up with a subscription to Stan Sport.
Stan Sport is the home of rugby union in Australia and are showing every single match from the 2024 Autumn Nations series, with new customers able to purchase either a Basic, Standard or the recommended Premium option and follow all the action from the end-of-year Tests, with prices starting at just $12 AUD per month.
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