Springboks show champion qualities as Cheslin Kolbe scores twice ...

The Springboks showed their world champion qualities to withstand a competitive England performance and take a 29-20 victory at Allianz Stadium on Saturday.

It increases the pressure on Red Rose head coach Steve Borthwick, who once again saw his side produce some good things but ultimately fall short in a fifth successive loss.

After narrow defeats to the All Blacks and Wallabies, they succumbed to the number one team in the world as tries from Grant Williams, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Cheslin Kolbe (twice) secured the win for South Africa.

The Red Rose were 20-19 in front at one stage after converted tries from Ollie Sleightholme and Sam Underhill, allied by 10 points from the boot of Marcus Smith, but once again they faltered in the latter stages of the match.

England – and their head coach – remain under pressure after yet another reversal, but one player who doesn’t appear to be feeling that is Marcus Smith.

Their best player against both the All Blacks and the Wallabies, the fly-half was once again the hosts’ main creator at Twickenham and set up their opening score on Saturday.

The Red Rose had started well and their playmaker shaped up for a drop-goal but, when Eben Etzebeth flew out of the line to close him down, Smith dummied, sped towards the left-hand side and found Henry Slade, who fed Sleightholme to score.

It was an excellent opening for Borthwick but the world champions soon responded to level thanks to a brilliant individual try from Williams, who beat Ellis Genge and Freddie Steward to touch down.

England regained their lead through the boot of Smith but South Africa began to force errors. Etzebeth was key to that and, after the lock charged down Jack van Poortvliet, Du Toit followed up to do the same to Smith before collecting and scoring.

The Springboks then made it a nine-point buffer after Libbok’s cross-field kick was finished by Kolbe.

At that point, the visitors had the momentum and could have taken control but, to the home side’s credit, they hit back and gave themselves hope via Underhill’s close-range effort.

That kept them in the game at the break and they managed to edge in front in the third quarter. Both sides had tries ruled out – Springboks for a forward pass and England for a croc roll – before Smith was successful with a penalty.

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The second period certainly did not have the pace and tempo of the first half but it was no less intriguing with the physicality and intensity off the charts.

It was all about the small wins and the Boks began to get an edge in the contact area with Handre Pollard kicking a three-pointer after an English infringement to take the tourists back in front.

Then came the decisive moment as Damian de Allende’s power did for Slade and Ben Earl as he charged through and passed to Kolbe, who once again showed his incredible balance and footwork to finish.

That was ultimately enough to claim the victory, despite some needless penalties from the Boks which led to Gerhard Steenekamp’s yellow card.

There was no lack of effort from England but their execution was severely lacking, while Rassie Erasmus’ men defended superbly in the final quarter to secure the win.

LIVE BLOG: England v Springboks as it happens with Steve Borthwick’s men tackling the world champions at Twickenham

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, 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

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 (c), 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

Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Chris Busby (Ireland), Eoghan Cross (Ireland)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)

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