England vs South Africa LIVE!
England welcome the Springboks to Twickenham as underdogs, having lost two on the bounce at home in agonising fashion. While a narrow loss to New Zealand in the first Autumn Nations Series lifted hopes, a defeat in similar circumstances to an Australia in rebuild mode last weekend has firmly placed the pressure on Steve Borthwick’s head.
It is a grudge rematch of the 2023 World Cup semi-final, which England lost by one point, and Borthwick will know his men must significantly raise their game – and eradicate alarmingly common mistakes – to beat the all-conquering back-to-back world champions and end this four-game losing run.
England have a healthy home record against the Boks, winning three on the bounce before falling to a convincing defeat two years ago, and England have become known for showing up when needed most, such as the 23-22 victory over Ireland earlier this year. Follow all the action with Standard Sport’s LIVE blog below, featuring expert analysis from Simon Collings at the ground!
TRY! Sleightholme gives England early lead
TRY! Williams dances through as Boks hit back
TRY! Du Toit goes over to give Boks lead
TRY! Underhill hits back for England
TRY! Kolbe increases Boks’ lead
19:30
78 mins: No one turns the screw like South Africa when they have an advantage to see out. Conversely, England have a real problem with getting over the line in tight games.
Time is running out for the hosts here and it looks all but sure that this is going to be a third straight Autumn Internationals defeat for Steve Borthwick and the Red Rose players.
19:20 , Jamie Dickenson
71 mins: The referee has made it clear that South Africa risk losing another player if they keep making the same infringements.
Marcus Smith kicks to the corner but Luke Cowan-Dickie unbelievably doesn’t throw in straight and England lose their territory.
How important could that end up being?
19:18 , Jamie Dickenson
The Boks are basically now going to finish this game with 14 men, that’s perked the crowd up. England have hope, again…
19:17 , Jamie Dickenson
68 mins: Well well well, is this the opportunity that England need to get back into this match? South Africa forward Steenekamp sees yellow and the hosts give the Twickenham crowd something to hold onto going into the final quarter of this engaging, pulsating Test match.
19:10 , Jamie Dickenson
64 mins: Cheslin Kolbe turns on the burners and rifles his way down the right flank to go over for South Africa’s fourth try of the evening.
It was a huge break in midfield from the Boks and Handre Pollard adds salt into England’s wounds by converting the try.
19:04 , Jamie Dickenson
59 mins: We’ve just seen Steve Borthwick looking dangerously like he was biting his nails in the stands there, but honestly who can blame him?
Handre Pollard gives the South Africa fans in attendance something to cheer as he just about kicks his penalty over from absolutely miles out.
18:59 , Jamie Dickenson
Big play from Roebuck there, moments after coming on as a replacement. Wins a penalty and Smith nails it. Roebuck could be a big weapon here.
18:58
52 mins: Marcus Smith sends England back in front – by just a point – with a calming penalty at the start of a breathless second period.
18:52 , Jamie Dickenson
48 mins: Rassie Erasmus rolls the dice with some early second-half changes for South Africa with fly-half Manie Libbok hooked for Handre Pollard and Malcolm Marx on for Bongi Mbonambi.
England have gone over the line for what they hope is a try but it ends up being disallowed. What drama already in this second half…
18:48 , Jamie Dickenson
A reprieve for England – and one they needed. They’ve got to keep the Boks in touching distance as this game moves towards its conclusion.
18:47 , Jamie Dickenson
43 mins: South Africa thought they had pushed further ahead just seconds into the second half, but their try is disallowed and suddenly England are on the attack.
18:41 , Jamie Dickenson
Both teams have emerged for the second half, amid a real party vibe at Twickenham with blaring dance music keeping the lucky 82,000 or so in attendance warm on this chilly November evening.
18:34 , Jamie Dickenson
As I head for a half-time pie, my main thought is – how on earth do both these sides keep up this tempo? The pace of this Test is on another level.
18:27
England will be perhaps relieved to go into half-time just two points behind South Africa in an exciting topsy-turvy first half.
Manie Libbok misses a late penalty to extend the Boks lead but there will be no smiles from the hosts – they know what the second half spells and that is total destruction and danger in the shape of the dreaded Bomb Squad.
Roll on the second half!
18:20 , Jamie Dickenson
35 mins: This match is delicately poised with five minutes to go into half-time and if you’re anything like me you’ll need the break to draw breath.
A true classic in the making here, England have fought back valiantly after South Africa hit three tries in response to the hosts’ opener.
Freddie Steward takes a sumptuous catch in midfield to justify his selection once again tonight and kicks into space but his team-mate can’t collect but earning the men in white valuable territory.
Breathless I tell you!
18:14 , Jamie Dickenson
Another bonkers Test match, like last week’s clash with Australia. England getting some when they get quick ball and move it at pace.
18:10 , Jamie Dickenson
27 mins: He might not possess one of the RFU’s special new contracts but Sam Underhill has a hugely valuable try for England in a frantic first half an hour of action.
Marcus Smith converts – channelling all the advice and guidance he gets every week from Jonny Wilkinson – to bring the hosts back into contention against a beastly South Africa.
18:05 , Jamie Dickenson
23 mins: It’s gone from bad to worse for poor Freddie Steward, who can’t stop Cheslin Kolbe from collecting a crossfield kick and waltzing over the line.
Feels deflating for England after such a bright start but South Africa are just reminding everyone why they are double world champions right now.
18:01 , Jamie Dickenson
Another try that England will watch back during analysis next week and shake their heads.
18:01 , Jamie Dickenson
17 mins: South Africa show everyone exactly why they are world champions with a scavenging try of the highest order.
Pieter-Steph du Toit touches down a calamitous move from England’s perspective to give the visitors the lead.
17:58 , Jamie Dickenson
15 mins: England’s player of the Autumn Internationals so far – Marcus Smith – edges the hosts ahead with a well-taken penalty.
17:55
Libbok slots the conversion to draw South Africa level. What a start to this game in south-west London.
17:53 , Jamie Dickenson
11 mins: Unbelievable response from South Africa, with Grant Williams dancing through a gaping hole in England’s midfield and stepping Freddie Steward like he wasn’t even there. One try each.
17:50 , Jamie Dickenson
Wow, how about that for a start? Fitting, in a way, that it comes with Smith dummying a drop-goal attempt. He has been magic all autumn.
17:46 , Jamie Dickenson
Marcus Smith converts from the spot to give England a huge early advantage here at Twickenham.
17:45 , Jamie Dickenson
04 mins: England lead through an early try thanks to some great footwork from Marcus Smith with Ollie Sleightholme going over in the far corner. The perfect start for the hosts.
17:44 , Jamie Dickenson
02 mins: Marcus Smith gets England’s attack going early on and Cheslin Kolbe covers but can’t get much distance with his kick.
The atmosphere at Twickenham is electric tonight – this is the biggest game in either hemisphere.
17:40
We are underway at Twickenham…
17:26 , Jamie Dickenson
For those unfamiliar with South Africa’s bench, aka ‘The Bomb Squad’, this description from Rassie Erasmus explains them perfectly: “The starters are the most destructive and the finishers are the power, almost like taking the shine off the ball in the first 10-15 overs of a cricket match.”
17:24 , Jamie Dickenson
Freddie Steward is relishing his England comeback after revealing the pain of his demotion from the side at full-back in favour of George Furbank.
Steward lost his place as Steve Borthwick’s starting #15 during the Six Nations campaign to Furbank, who started the last two Tests against New Zealand and Australia.
But the Leicester man has been recalled for the visit of South Africa, with Steward telling BBC Radio 5 Live: “It was one of the hardest things I’ve had to deal with.
“When you have something for a while and then you lose it, it puts into perspective how important that thing is to you.
“Not having that over the last couple months has been really challenging.
“Emotionally it has been tough, but I’ve had to use that as fuel to keep pushing and wanting to get better and win that place back.
“It can be a kick in the teeth but you have to use those experiences, and I’m sat here now as a better rugby player and a stronger person.”
17:12 , Jamie Dickenson
England currently warming up and Freddie Steward – or ‘Air Steward’ as he has been dubbed – is taking plenty of high balls.
Borthwick and Erasmus both predicted this will be a bit of a kickfest today due to World Rugby’s law changes this autumn.
17:12 , Jamie Dickenson
Penny for this man’s thoughts…
17:02 , Jamie Dickenson
England have struggled to get over the line in recent games, with six of their last seven Test matches coming down to the final play.
England 23-22 Ireland
France 33-31 England
Japan 17-52 England
New Zealand 16-15 England
New Zealand 24-17 England
England 22-24 New Zealand
England 37-42 Australia
Since England’s close-fought Six Nations victory over Ireland at Twickenham in March their only win has come against Japan – with the theme being late defeats against the likes of France, New Zealand and even an unexpected loss against Australia last weekend.
16:52 , Jamie Dickenson
16:50 , Jamie Dickenson
England have arrived to a gladiatorial reception at Twickenham ahead of their meeting with South Africa.
Wonder if the nerves are jangling for any of Steve Borthwick’s men…
16:46
Steve Borthwick speaking in the match-day programme: “The players very much want to get back out there today and there is definitely no shortage of motivation.”
A reminder, if England suffer defeat today it will be the first time since 2018 they have lost five games on the spin.
16:21 , Jamie Dickenson
Plenty of green shirts milling around Twickenham, many of them congregating around pop-up Braai stall – which is doing a roaring trade. A lot of them are confident they can inflict more misery on England today, who are yet to win this autumn.
16:08
Our man Simon Collings is at Twickenham today for what we expect to be a bad-blood clash between England and South Africa that offers the hosts a golden opportunity to transform the look and feel of their Autumn International Series as pressure builds on coach Steve Borthwick.
Amid all the talk of a breakaway league and global franchises, it is perhaps fitting that Twickenham is serving up a classic Test match this weekend.
The build-up to England hosting South Africa has included plenty of discussion around a new competition that would shake up the club game.
Taking elements from the likes of Formula 1, LIV Golf and the Indian Premier League, franchises would reportedly tour the globe with teams that are packed with the game’s biggest stars.
Such discussions are said to be in their infancy and, whatever the end result of them is, the importance and power of international rugby cannot be forgotten.
Click here to read the full story!
15:49 , Jamie Dickenson
England to win: 23/10
South Africa to win: 4/11
Draw: 25/1
Odds via Betfair (subject to change).
15:47
These two sides last met in the 2023 World Cup semi-finals in France, when Handre Pollard’s late penalty condemned surprise package England to a heartbreaking 16-15 loss.
South Africa also edged out England in the 2019 World Cup final in Yokohama, later winning 27-13 at Twickenham in November 2022 despite Thomas du Toit’s sending off having lost by a single point a year earlier, 27-26, after Marcus Smith’s kick with just seconds to spare.
The Springboks have a commanding lead in the overall head to head and have lost just one of the last four meetings.
England wins: 16
South Africa wins: 28
Draws: 2
15:45
England could not ask for tougher opponents as they desperately seek to bounce back from their series of maddening close defeats.
While not firing on all cylinders with a rotated side against Scotland, South Africa remain the best team on the planet – a finely-tuned and intensely physical winning machine who possess ridiculous strength in depth and significant threats all over the pitch.
The alarm bells should be ringing loudly for Borthwick after his leaky team shipped 42 points at home against an Australia side that are comfortably inferior to the Boks and who absolutely dismantled their broken blitz defence with ease, led by ultra-talented rugby league convert Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii.
As ever with England vs South Africa and Rassie Erasmus, expect talking points and controversies galore as hostilities are renewed, with the visitors likely emerging as comfortable victors from a no doubt gruelling battle to put more pressure on a struggling Borthwick whose team continue to lack crucial execution in important moments.
South Africa to win, by 10 points.
15:38 , Jamie Dickenson
As for the Springboks, a number of huge names return to the starting lineup at Twickenham after the rotation seen against Scotland that once again underlined their fearsome strength in depth.
That number includes influential captain Siya Kolisi and star flanker Pieter-Steph du Toit, while the likes of Kurt-Lee Arendse, Cheslin Kolbe, Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel were all omitted entirely at Murrayfield as head coach Rassie Erasmus bolstered his famous ‘Bomb Squad’ by opting to bring back the 7-1 bench split that made headlines during last year’s narrow World Cup final win over New Zealand in Paris.
However, they all start this weekend in 12 changes from Scotland. Former Harlequins prop Wilco Louw starts at prop for the first time in three years, having been a late call-up for the tour.
Exciting fly-half Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu is among the South Africa players missing the autumn series through injury, along with Salmaan Moerat, Steven Kitshoff, Faf de Klerk and Lood de Jager.
South Africa XV: Fassi; Kolbe, Kriel, De Allende, Arendse; Libbok, Williams; Nche, Mbonambi, Loux; Etzebeth, Snyman; Kolisi (c), Du Toit, Wiese.
Replacements: Marx, Steenekamp, Koch, Louw, Smith, Reinach, Pollard, Am.
15:36
England’s fortunes against South Africa will not be helped by the dual absence of Tom Curry and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, who have both withdrawn from the squad due to head injuries suffered in Saturday’s last-gasp 42-37 loss to the resurgent Wallabies.
They have been replaced in the wider squad by Bath flanker Ted Hill and Sale wing Tom Roebuck. Sam Underhill replaces Curry in England’s back row, with Ollie Sleightholme coming in out wide for a first start after his two-try outing off the bench against Australia.
There are two other changes from Borthwick, with George Furbank dropping out completely as Freddie Steward returns at full-back and Ben Spencer replaced by Jack van Poortvliet at scrum-half. Roebuck is added to the bench.
England XV: Steward; Freeman, Lawrence, Slade, Sleightholme; M Smith, Van Poortvliet; Genge, George (c), Stuart; Itoje, Martin; Cunningham-South, Underhill, Earl.
Replacements: Cowan-Dickie, Baxter, Cole, Isiekwe, Dombrandt, Randall, Ford, Roebuck.
15:28 , Jamie Dickenson
TV channel: In the UK, today’s showdown is being broadcast live on TNT Sports 1, with coverage beginning at 5:15pm GMT after Scotland’s clash with Portugal.
Live stream: Subscribers can also catch the game live online via the Discovery+ website and app.
Live blog: Follow all the action on matchday with Standard Sport’s live blog, featuring analysis from Simon Collings at Twickenham.
15:17 , Jamie Dickenson
Good afternoon and welcome to Standard Sport’s LIVE coverage of England vs South Africa.
All eyes will be on Twickenham today for this seismic Test match which is a repeat of the 2023 Rugby World Cup semi-final – in which South Africa won 16-15 in Paris.
This time around England are looking to avoid a fifth successive defeat with pressure starting to grow on coach Steve Borthwick after Australia grabbed a 42-37 win here last weekend.
Stay with us for all the best build-up ahead of kick-off which is scheduled for 5:40pm BST at Twickenham.
