LONDON (AP) — South Africa winger Cheslin Kolbe hurt England once again by scoring a try in each half to propel the Springboks to a 29-20 win at Twickenham on Saturday, extending the English run of defeats to five.
It was England’s third straight loss to a southern hemisphere power in this autumn series, after 24-22 to New Zealand and 42-37 to Australia, and some familiar faces administered the late crucial blows in an engrossing match that was in the balance after an hour.
Kolbe, one of the try-scorers in the Boks’ World Cup final win over England in 2019, finished off a crossfield kick for his first try in the 22nd minute and went over for the clinching score in the 63rd following a piercing break by center Damien de Allende.
South Africa pushed two scores ahead thanks to a conversion by replacement flyhalf Handre Pollard, whose last-gasp penalty sealed the Boks’ win over England in the World Cup semifinals last year, and the English couldn’t respond despite territory and playing against 14 men for the final 10 minutes.
Since repeating as world champions a year ago, the Springboks have won 10 of 12 tests and lost the other two by only a point each. England, meanwhile, has lost six of its last seven tests and has a concerning penchant for finishing tight games weakly.
It is leaving England coach Steve Borthwick under increasing pressure, especially if his team fails to beat Japan next week in their last outing of the year.
A frenetic first half featured five tries, two for England — through Ollie Sleightholme and Sam Underhill — and three for the Boks, via scrumhalf Grant Williams’ darting run, flanker Pieter-Steph du Toit’s chargedown and grounding, and Kolbe.
The second half was more tight and tense, with each team having a try ruled out and England taking a 20-19 lead through Marcus Smith’s penalty in the 52nd.
England lacked composure with a huge win in its sights and Pollard, on for Mannie Libbok, returned the favor with a trademark penalty from halfway to regain the lead for the Boks.
Kolbe took De Allende’s pass and sprinted down the wing to score the try that broke English hearts, and Pollard naturally slotted the extras from the touchline.
Replacement prop Gerhard Steenekamp’s 69th-minute sin-binning for repeated team infringements might have cost South Africa, but its defense stayed strong and England made errors and bad decisions.
The last time England lost three in a row at home was in 2006.
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