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Mike Brown of England breaks through the South African defence during the QBE International match between England and South Africa at Twickenham Stadium on November 24, 2012 in London, England.
(November 23, 2012 - Source: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images Europe)
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South Africa saw off England with a 16-15 win on a grim Saturday at Twickenham, with a late rally from the hosts seeing them fall short.
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England dominated territory and possession but were naive in attack, lacking direction and depth which made matters simple for the Springboks defence. Too often forwards were found in midfield when England needed a clinical linebreaker. The fact that Tom Youngs was the most effective Red Rose attacker said it all.
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Brad Barritt of England runs with the ball during the QBE International match between England and South Africa at Twickenham Stadium on November 24, 2012 in London, England.
(November 23, 2012 - Source: Tom Shaw/Getty Images Europe)
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An interception break from Manu Tuilagi in the second half summed up their troubles perfectly; Chris Ashton choosing to not back his pace and ultimately seeing England plod forward into another turnover.
South Africa on the other hand were more patient, clinical and superior without anywhere near the same amount of possession - executing to greater effect when inside opposition territory in a replica performance from their victory over Ireland weeks earlier.
Man of the match: One big performance from Eben Etzebeth, dominant in the skies and a joint top tackler with 16.
Moment of the match: England may well regret their decision for points over the corner as the clock ran out.
Villain of the match: Aimless kicking. It entertains nobody and transforms games from spectacles to duds.
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Willem Alberts of South Africa goes over to score a try.
(November 23, 2012 - Source: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images Europe)
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Alex Goode of England breaks away from Jannie du Plessis.
(November 23, 2012 - Source: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images Europe)
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England 15 South Africa 16
A moral victory? There are no such things in international rugby, and if England can take huge consolation in the way they took the game to South Africa up front, rebounding well from a tepid outing a week earlier, they will also know that this is the 11th time they have faced the Boks since November 2006 and come away without a win.
Once again this is the narrative of England’s autumn, a story which has repeated itself for the best part of a decade.
England had opportunities to win this match. The forwards dominated the Boks up front in a display of alpha maleness which was in stark contrast to the powder puff effort they put in against the Wallabies.
The scrummage roared, they had far more than their fair share of territory and possession, yet England failed to win the Test. Moral victory? Here’s another way of looking at this game. England are quite simply the slowest learners in world rugby.
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Ben Morgan of England breaks with the ball.
(November 23, 2012 - Source: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images Europe)
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Given the defeat and the damage it had done to England’s world rankings, it is difficult to milk any positives from this performance at Twickenham. But there were some.
England’s scrum, which was boosted by the return of Alex Corbisiero at loosehead prop, troubled the Boks for an hour or so and, in Geoff Parling, Ben Morgan and, particularly, Joe Launchbury, England discovered forwards eager to, and capable of, forcing South Africa into reverse gear.
One of the more frustrating aspects for England was seeing players lose control of possession at precisely the moments when control of the ball was essential because of robust Bok defence. Chris Ashton was one culprit, as was Mako Vunipola, who replaced Corbisiero. On such moments do Test matches turn.
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Duane Vermeulen of South Africa is stopped by Chris Robshaw (L)M and Joe Launchbury (R).
(November 23, 2012 - Source: Tom Shaw/Getty Images Europe)
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And so England are forced to look to the unlikeliest place for salvation. New Zealand are next up for England at Twickenham and they can be guaranteed to squeeze hard, then squeeze some more.
What started as a promising autumn against Fiji is now close to chaos with England yet to claim a southern hemisphere scalp under Stuart Lancaster. All black for England? We will know for sure this Saturday.
Ben Morgan of England charges towards Adriaan Strauss.
(November 23, 2012 - Source: Tom Shaw/Getty Images Europe)
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Willem Alberts of South Africa wins the line out ball ahead of Tom Wood of England.
(November 23, 2012 - Source: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images Europe)
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SOUTH Africa completed an unbeaten tour of Europe with a 16-15 victory over England at Twickenham, doing more damage to the hosts' hopes of a top-four seeding at next month's World Cup draw.
Springboks flanker Willem Alberts's try - the only one of the match - early in the second half proved the decisive score.
But with the home side trailing 16-12 and only two minutes left, England captain Chris Robshaw - criticised for running kickable penalties during last week's defeat by Australia - told replacement five-eighth Owen Farrell to go for goal rather than opt for an attacking line-out that could have lead to a try.
But while Farrell landed the kick, it meant England, fifth in the world rankings, were still a point behind.
South Africa then ran down the clock to extend their unbeaten streak against England to 11 Tests.
Ben Morgan of England breaks the South African defence.
(November 23, 2012 - Source: Tom Shaw/Getty Images Europe)
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Ben Youngs of England kicks the ball from the scrum.
(November 23, 2012 - Source: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images Europe)
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IRB World Rankings: provisional update
Following the conclusion of the six matches involving the 12 seeded teams for the RWC 2015 Pool Allocation Draw, the top four seeds for the draw will be confirmed as New Zealand, South Africa, Australia and France, when the latest IRB World Rankings are published on Monday 26 November.
The ratings gap between the top four teams in the rankings and the rest on Monday will be too high for results of the two matches on 1 December (England v New Zealand and Wales v Australia) to affect their position as a top seed for the RWC 2015 draw.
England and Ireland will be confirmed as being in the second band of seeds for the RWC 2015 Pool Allocation Draw (fifth to eighth in the IRB World Rankings) when the rankings are announced.
If Wales avoid defeat against Australia, Wales and Samoa will take the other two spots in this second band, with Argentina in the third band. However, if Australia defeat Wales, then Samoa and Argentina will fill these two spots in the second band, with Wales joining Italy, Tonga and Scotland in the third band of seeds for the RWC 2015 Pool Allocation Draw.
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Joe Launchbury of England is tackled by Pat Lambie.
(November 23, 2012 - Source: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images Europe)
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Francois Louw of South Africa charges upfield.
(November 23, 2012 - Source: Tom Shaw/Getty Images Europe)
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next test:
England v New Zealand
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