England 6 South Africa 42:ENGLAND HAVE known some horrible days at their old suburban fortress, but nothing on this scale. Defeat at home by a record 36-point margin is the stuff of nightmares.
And who's that coming over the hill to comfort the battered survivors of this train crash? Why, none other than New Zealand, the most ruthless of sporting assassins. It is enough to make even Martin Johnson wince.
Johnson's World Cup-winning team-mate Phil Vickery best captured the sense of desolation. The prop played in the all-time worst English loss, the 76-0 defeat by Australia in Brisbane in 1998, but he rated Saturday as more painful. "I don't think there's any lower you can get than that. But we've got to get on because we've still got to play the All Blacks. The older, more experienced guys have got to do their bit but the others have to step up as well. There's nowhere to hide . . . Everyone's got to pull together. It'll be a huge test of character."
Spot on. It could be argued England again ran into clinical opponents who took their chances despite a deficit in possession and territory. That is precisely the point. England fell way short of the composure and collective organisation required to win. They did not take their opportunities because they were not good enough to do so. The Springboks had barely trained all week at the end of a long, gruelling year. They were also without two of their star players, the flanker Juan Smith and scrumhalf Fourie du Preez, and they played a quarter of the game with 14 men. They still looked more cohesive and fresher than a home side who have been enjoying an unprecedented amount of training time together.
The sight of a lock Bakkies Botha racing 50 metres to tackle a fullback, Delon Armitage, into touch near the right corner flag was among the more revealing snapshots, as was Danny Cipriani's slow descent into humiliation. The former England outhalf Mike Catt is one of many who feel Cipriani should be withdrawn from the New Zealand match for his own protection, warning no Test side can afford a number 10 who keeps conceding tries through charged-down kicks. The looping long pass from Danny Care and fatal extra steps which led to Ruan Pienaar's crucial score represented the third time in five Tests Cipriani has cost his side dear.
"It is a serial fault and suggests he lacks spatial awareness," said Catt, suggesting Leicester's Toby Flood should start against the All Blacks instead.
Cipriani's kicking from hand was also below par but England could pick Barry John at outhalf and still not solve deeper-seated problems elsewhere. Leaving aside their remarkable rally at last year's World Cup, England's forwards have not made obvious strides under the tutelage of John Wells. It is all very well concentrating on the set-pieces and throwing umpteen bodies into the breakdown but an element of dynamism is missing.
England have some decent players but they do not always complement each other. Support is slow and the ball receiver is often too static, or guilty of running laterally. Nor is their defence as proactive as it should be. It may sound perverse to hail the Springboks' tackling after a five-try win but it was the most obvious difference between the sides.
The visitors' first try, when Danie Rossouw charged through Cipriani, Riki Flutey and Jamie Noon to score by the posts, was a calculated strike at a soft target. Adrian Jacobs' cracker of a second-half try, added to late scores from Jaque Fourie and Bryan Habana, underlined the gulf in marksmanship. This is the first South African side to finish a European tour unbeaten since Nick Mallett's men in 1997.
"We can either pack up and go home or we can come back and start training on Monday morning," growled Johnson, implying mass changes would not be forthcoming. "If you chop and change every week it doesn't make you any better." For all Steve Borthwick's qualities, the captain is not lifting the team. Over half this side play for Wasps, who are bumping along near the bottom of the Guinness Premiership.
Guardian Service
ENGLAND:Armitage; Sackey, Noon, Flutey, Monye; Cipriani, Care; Payne, Mears, Vickery, Borthwick, Palmer, Haskell, Rees, Easter. Replacements: Flood for Flutey (30 mins), Ellis for Care (66 mins), Hartley for Mears (58 mins), Stevens for Vickery (53 mins), Shaw for Palmer (32 mins), Croft for Rees (79 mins), Crane for Easter (69 mins).
SOUTH AFRICA:Jantjes; Pietersen, Jacobs, de Villiers, Habana; Pienaar, Januarie; Mtawarira, Smit, du Plessis, Botha, Matfield, Burger, Rossouw, Spies. Replacements: Fourie for Jacobs (58 mins), Steyn for Pienaar (64 mins), Mujati for du Plessis (67 mins), Ralepelle for Rossouw (32 mins), Brussow for Spies (75 mins). Not used: Bekker, Kankowski. Sin Bin: Mtawarira (30 mins), Jantjes (64 mins).
Referee:Nigel Owens (WRFU).
