England v South Africa: Autumn Nations Series rugby union – live | Autumn Nations Series

Yellow card! South Africa (Steenkamp, 69)

68th min: South Africa steal the ball after an England spill in contact and Kolbe’ raking kick takes it over half-way. England looking a little rushed now. South Africa’s defence is growing.

67th min: Another penalty against South Africa and they’ll get a team warning for repeated infringements. Collapsing the maul this time. Smith kicks to touch. England get the line-out inside the Boks’ 22. They have to score here you feel.

65th min: England have a line-out inside their own half after Kolbe causes trouble for Smith under a high ball and then toes ahead a grubber that bobbles out. Has momentum swing? Well, England have a penalty and now a line-out on half-way.

TRY! England 20-29 South Africa (Kolbe, 63)

62nd min: Marx with a monster steal inside his own 22. England kept it narrow after clean line-out ball but the Boks defence held. Pollard clears to touch just inside his own half.

61st min: This is so incredibly tight. Both teams going to the skies, seeking territory and a kind bounce. Steward is taken out in the air by Kolbe who always had his eyes on the ball. So it’s a penalty, not a card. Kwagga Smith is on for Wiese. Reinach on for Williams.. Randall replaces van Poortvliet. Slade will kick to touch. That is an excellent boot. England with the line-out about 10 m out.

Penalty! England 20-22 South Africa (Pollard, 59)

58th min: South Africa win a penalty on the ground. This has morphed into a really niggly affair. Pollard, on the half-way line and with an angle adding a bit more, asks to take a shot at goal.

57th min: Kick tennis ends with Pollard claiming a high ball under pressure. But England are bossing the territory battle. Smith has it on a string.

55th min: Etzebeth gets high to disrupt England’s line-out and forces a knock-on. But he played the man in the air so it’s actually an England penalty. They go march into SA’s half with another raking nudge from Smith.

54th min: England win the scrum penalty! Everything is going their way! What a massive win that is inside their own 22. Smith clears to touch. South Africa need to find an extra gear. It’s all England right now.

53rd min: England lead 20-19 (for the reader who just asked).

53rd min: England spill the ball after the restart so South Africa have a scrum inside the 22. It’s not quite the elite front row. Can they eke a penalty or at least get go-forward?

Penalty! England 20-19 South Africa (Smith, 52)

50th min: South Africa lose their line-out and England are winning the contact now. Lawrence bounces Etzebeth, no easy feat! Then Smith kicks high and Pollard catches but doesn’t mark it. Why didn’t he mark it!? Soon after England get a penalty after an obstruction from Boks as they blocked the chasers.

Both teams have had tries scratched off for marginal calls.

49th min: Itoje neck rolled Marx as he went to clear him out so it’s no try! So many twists in this narrative. SA get the penalty on their own line. Wow, what a let off for the Springboks! Boos ring out but that is the right decision.

Oh but hang on! They’re looking at something. Will this be chalked off?

NO TRY! England 17-19 South Africa (Slade, 49)

48th min: England’s maul makes ground but soon stalls. They’re pushed back beyond the 22 so Smith lifts a high kick that Freeman claims. They’re five from the line now…

46th min: Another penalty won on the ground by England after Kolbe gathered a high box. Sleightholme this time. Smith chooses to kick to the corner rather than at poles as Swing Low rings out. Libbok and Mbonambi are replaced by Pollard and Marx.

45th min: Earl makes a big steal inside his 22 after South Africa’s line-out was secured. England win the penalty and Smith can hoof a relieving kick into touch.

42nd min: NO TRY! They feel that Fassi’s pass to Arendse, who ran in about 40 metres before sliding in the corner, had drifted forward. That was close. Still, they had the advantage so Libbok kicks to the corner. Well, not the corner, that was a poor nudge. They’re on the 22.

They’re checking. Fassi’s final pass to Arendse was marginal.

Arendse scores! But is this forward?

42nd min: SA win the restart and Wiese and then Mbonambi charge over the gainline. They have a penalty advantage so de Allende kicks a nothing chip that is easily marked. But the advantage was over. Much to his surprise. So England get the ball back cheaply and can hoof it clear.

Libbok to get us going again….

As the players run out Jeremy Boyce clears his lungs:

Hi Daniel

England ‘til I die and all that, but you have to suffer for your beliefs, eh ?

We are suffering badly at the moment (but, ho-ho, not as much as the Welsh, all things are relative), and the weight of expectation is heavy. We have all the means and more at our disposal but somehow find ways of making the least of them rather than the most. Over-loaded with previous failure baggage ? Over-thinking ? Over-reliance on Stat-ball ? Overlooked the fact that other people are quite good at rugby too ? Didn’t rugby happen because of an over-enthusiastic gesture by a football player, freeing his mind and seeing a possibility ? Rugby seems to be over-complicated now, and every rule-tweek makes it worse. For me, the rot set in when they allowed lifting at line outs. What was wrong with “see who can jump highest.” ? If rugby is suffering it is because it has over-complicated itself and is almost impossible to understand now for players, referees, and spectators alike. Keep It Simple Stupid.

As for the rush defence, it’s a great tactic but you have to be perfect every time. We owe that to USA Football, Joe Montana, Dan Marino and all the others constantly rushed, but if they got their pass away it was worth it for the TD. High risk. Good TV.

I agree. Underhill makes my England team every time:

Steward has been a beast in the backfield. He’s looked so assured under the high ball.

“Good man Freddie. Norfolk’s finest,” says Tom Mc.

“Ever backwards under Borthwick,” says Andrew Thomas.

“I guess when you have only one world class player ie Smith he can only play with what he has with the rest journey men only I’m afraid. Southern Hemisphere gap is as wide as it ever was kind regards.”

Well, the gap right now is only two points. And England have every reason to believe that they could win this.

Marcus Smith is having a blinder. Yet again. What a player he is.

David Hilmy (a Scot, as far as I can tell) says that the Quins 10 is the key to England’s chances of a win:

If England are to be successful, it will be dependent upon Marcus Smith, he needs to stay in the game- of course everyone likes to blame the coaches when their team loses (or in Scotland’s case this morning, win yet still have detractors who behave like England football supporters!) but for England’s sake I hope Borthwick doesn’t go with what appears to be a pre-meditated sub policy for the fly-half around the 60-70 minute mark instead of making that and other subs based upon what is actually happening on the pitch.

Half-time: England 17-19 South Africa

40th min: Libbok has the distance but drifts it wide. Still, they’ll have the line-out after a clearing kick from England finds touch.

38th min: Snyman wins the line-out and Libbok then dinks a kick over the onrushing defence. Freeman wins it but Wiese is in quick to make the steal. Libbok will attempt a shot at goal from the halfway.

37th min: Another scrum penalty for South Africa. Libbok clears and Sa will have the throw 10 m inside their own half.

36th min: More kick tennis but this time Steward takes it clean and charges ahead. It’s a great counter. he toes a grubber forward and gives Freeman something to chase. He almost gets there but Libbok is covering. Freeman times his run perfectly but spills itn under pressure. Good gain for England though. South Africa have to scrum without the Ox five metres from their own line.

34th min: A bit of kick tennis ends with Kolbe launching a bomb over half-way. England win the line-out and van Poortvliet boxes. This time it lands for South Africa and Mbonambi takes it into contact before Fassi hoists one high that Steward claims.

33rd min: Smith is some player. Once again he’s running everything and England look dangerous when they have the ball. There are some big hits but England’s centres now have go forward ball. Earl carrying well. Lawrence kicks but it’s too long. England will at least get the goal line drop out back at them. Nche is limping off. he doesn’t look in good shape.

32nd min: Williams snipes and finds space through the forwards clustered for the line-out. He has support on his inside but can’t get the off-load away. England swarm the breakdown and come up with the steal from Underhill after a bit hit from Freeman. Fassi drops a high ball but rather than a scrum it’s an England line-out on half-way.