South Africa tore apart England 45-21 after a stunning three-try blastoff in Nations Championship rugby at Ellis Park on Saturday.
The shock and awe start by the Springboks for a 17-0 lead inside the first 12 minutes gave the double world champions a cushion they rode to their biggest win over England in 18 years.
The English impressively fought back to trail by only three at halftime but they succumbed to South Africa’s heavy carries and ruthless finishing, and were down to 13 players at fulltime.
England has suffered five straight losses on the back of a 12-match winning streak.
Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus rated the performance as “above average” after they were forced in the morning to play debutant Paul de Villiers and one-cap Cameron Hanekom in the back row, and move star flanker Pieter-Steph du Toit into lock.
Captain Siya Kolisi was ruled out by a hamstring issue
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