England... 53 South Africa... 3: Test rugby is a physical contact sport and England, like all top sides, fully understand the law of the jungle. There are legitimate big hits and there are gratuitous cheap shots, but no international touring team in modern times have crossed the line as blatantly as the Springboks on Saturday.
Never mind the scoreline, a record defeat which should embarrass everyone connected with South African rugby. Worse, for those who care about the game's image, was the manner in which the Boks shamed their proud heritage with their relentless head-hunting, sly elbows and calculated violence.
England kept their composure, to their credit, even though scarcely one of their players did not resemble a road accident victim.
Jonny Wilkinson's left arm hung in a black sling to protect a damaged shoulder joint which needs further assessment today, Neil Back's right eye was almost completely shut and even the face of the replacement outhalf, Austin Healey, carried more than the usual scars of his trade.
Even on the streets of Bloemfontein or Pretoria there should be scant pity for the South Africans at having to play three-quarters of the game with 14 players. The 23rd-minute dismissal of their lock Jannes Labuschagne, an optometry student who needs his own eyes tested if he felt his late shoulder charge on Wilkinson was justified, came immediately after the New Zealand referee, Paddy O'Brien, had warned both sides to calm down.
Subsequently Wilkinson, Jason Robinson, Matt Dawson and Phil Christophers all suffered nasty blows to the head and, despite England's seven tries, the strong-arm tactics of Butch James, Robbie Fleck and the Springbok captain Corne Krige left the deepest impression.
"The Springboks went a mile over the line today," said England's assistant coach, Phil Larder, struggling to recall a game of similar brutality in either union or league. "We were always prepared for our key players to be put under pressure, but I was surprised by the severity of it. To me the game's all about winning, not putting opposition players in a heap over the sideline."
Clive Woodward felt the same, as concerned about rugby spiralling into general anarchy as the prospect of these two teams resuming hostilities in their World Cup pool game in Perth next October.
"We have got to be very careful as a sport," said England's head coach. "In the cold light of day everybody in the game has got to look at what went on. There were a lot of cheap shots. The players won't say anything, because they're not that sort of team, but I can."
This was an afternoon, though, to test even the most diplomatic of men and Wilkinson, for one, felt he had been deliberately targeted.
Amid all the flying fur, it should be remembered this was a world-record 18th successive win at a single venue and a fourth English victory over South Africa in 29 months. On the flip side, it is hard to recall an England team so visibly shattered after 65 minutes, despite the advantage presented by Labuschagne becoming the first Springbok to be dismissed at Twickenham.
Even with 15 men the Boks had looked doomed once Ben Cohen completed a remarkable full set of tries against the leading nations by escaping Fleck's tackle in the right corner.
Will Greenwood, with two artful tries either side of half-time, extended the margin, and the half-century was raised via a penalty try for a high tackle on Christophers by Werner Greeff plus backrow incisions from Back, Richard Hill and Lawrence Dallaglio, a replacement for Lewis Moody who also has a damaged shoulder.
Greeff was cited yesterday for the high tackle by the French match commissioner Paul Mauriac and the full back's case, along with Labuschagne's, will be heard tomorrow.
ENGLAND: Robinson (Sale); Cohen (Northampton), Greenwood (Harlequins), Tindall (Bath), Christophers (Bristol); Wilkinson (Newcastle), Dawson (Northampton; Leonard (Harlequins), Thompson (Northampton), Vickery (Gloucester), Johnson (Leicester, capt), Kay (Leicester), Moody (Leicester), Back (Leicester), Hill (Saracens). Replacements: Dallaglio for Moody (15 mins), Healey for Wilkinson (44 mins), Gomarsall for Dawson (57 mins), Stimpson for Greenwood, Grewcock for Kay (both 70 mins).
SOUTH AFRICA: Greeff; Paulse, Fleck, James, Lombard; Pretorius, Conradie; Roux, Dalton, Carstens, Labuschagne, Venter, Krige (capt), Wannenburg, Van Niekerk. Replacements: Jordaan for Conradie (10 mins), Russell for Paulse (48 mins), Jacobs for Pretorious, Van Biljon for Dalton (both 55 mins), Van der Linde for Carstens (61 mins).
Red card: Labuschagne.
Referee: P O'Brien (N Zealand).
