England's Owen Farrell
England's Owen Farrell

England 12-11 South Africa: Owen Farrell kicks a late penalty to earn victory


Owen Farrell struck a late penalty to propel England to a 12-11 victory over South Africa in a gripping start to their autumn series at Twickenham.

Farrell landed a difficult kick in the 73rd minute that ultimately decided the Quilter International, but the Saracens fly-half was then under the spotlight as controversey reigned in injury time.

He appeared to lead with the shoulder in tackling Andre Esterhuizen, an offence that under the current crackdown on dangerous tackles could have resulted in a red card being issued by referee Angus Gardner.

The Australian official decided Farrell's tackle was legal, however, to deny South Africa a kickable penalty.

England coach Eddie Jones told Sky Sports: "It was a tough old Test match. We had players out on their feet. A real show of resistance, a lot of toughness in our play, really pleased with the boys.

"We just stuck at it, just stayed in the arm wrestle, did the simple things well. We had to keep on trying to turn them around, keep them on the back foot and we did that."

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England ratings

  • ELLIOT DALY: The Wasps outside centre has yet to convince at full-back, but his penalty kicking is crucial. 6
  • JACK NOWELL: Did not see much ball but came into his own in the closing stages when play opened up. 6
  • HENRY SLADE: Showed flashes of the skills that have earned him a run in the team. 7
  • BEN TE'O: Not a good day to be a carrier off first phase - barely saw the ball but one overhead pass was superb. 6
  • JONNY MAY: Error prone early on but every time he touches the ball Twickenham comes alive. 6
  • OWEN FARRELL: As defeat loomed, he propelled England onwards through force of character. 9
  • BEN YOUNGS: A general and source of calm when chaos reigned in the closing stages. 7
  • ALEC HEPBURN: Withdrawn at half-time and England clearly have an issue at loosehead. 6
  • DYLAN HARTLEY: Offered strong leadership and was always to be found at the eye of the storm. 7
  • KYLE SINCKLER: Not making the impact as a carrier expected of him, but was good at the set-piece. 7
  • MARO ITOJE: Dreadful first-half when on a one-man mission to upset referee Angus Gardner, but outstanding in the second. 6
  • GEORGE KRUIS: Grew as a force as the game progressed. Strong performance. 7
  • BRAD SHIELDS: Work-rate set him apart, but he was also tenacious in the tackle and got stuck into the Boks. 7
  • TOM CURRY: Departed shortly after half-time, a menace until then. 7
  • MARK WILSON: Given the official man of the match after a performance that showed extraordinary commitment. 8
  • Replacements - Jamie George, Harry Williams and George Ford looked lively and England had the stronger bench. 7

England host New Zealand next weekend in their second autumn international and Jones added: "We're going to prepare well and we can't wait to play them.

"You want to play against the best in the world and the Kiwis are the best in the world so let's bring it on."

Against South Africa, England were under siege for virtually the entire first half, overpowered by the opposition pack at every turn but they showed resolve in defence to limit the half-time deficit to 8-6.

Inspired by the hard carrying of inside centre Damian de Allande, the Springboks pounded away at England's line time and again but had only a try by Sbu Nkosi to show for their efforts.

Remarkably, an England side heavily depleted by injury snatched the lead through Elliot Daly's 51st-minute penalty without having made a single visit to South Africa's 22 until that point.

That landmark was established soon after Daly had struck and Eddie Jones' men finally burst into life, showing the urgency and belief that was missing in a passive first-half.

At the heart of their fightback was Farrell, who justified Jones' description as the team's "spiritual leader" with a display of skill and resilience that helped avenge the 2-1 series defeat in June.

South Africa could have won it at the death only for a long-range penalty by Handre Pollard to brush the right upright before a late surge was foiled by Farrell's tackle on Warren Whiteley.

England rode their luck during a tense first quarter, drawing repeated warnings from Gardner with Maro Itoje his main target.

By the 16th minute Itoje alone had conceded three penalties, the third of which was accompanied by a yellow card, although he had least prevented Ivan van Zyl from scoring a certain try before killing the ball.

South Africa battered away at the line and Jonny May was the next to reprimanded by Gardner, who threatened another sin-binning for the next offence, as he sneaked in off-side.

A dismal line-out throw allowed England to lift the siege, however, and soon after Farrell landed a long-range penalty to cancel out an early three points from Pollard.

Itoje returned from the sin-bin and was soon given another ticking off by Gardner as a collapsed five-metre scrum invited more pressure, but once again South Africa's line-out throw was wild and the danger passed.

The Springboks renewed their attack with De Allende the spearhead, his speed and eye for the gap repeatedly generating momentum and with England stretched, Nkosi raced in at the right corner.

Both sides lost key men early in the second half to leg injuries as Tom Curry and Eben Etzebeth departed and the tempo of the game rose sharply with more rugby being played in the South African half.

The chaotic play unfolding suited England and suddenly they were breaking into the opposition half at will.

Daly kicked them ahead from close to the half-way line and when Farrell split the defence with a brilliant show and go, the Springboks were reeling once more as play swung from end to end.

Pollard booted a 45-metre penalty to wrestle back the lead but it was soon panic stations for his team-mates as England came again, but they rallied well with Farrell delivering the winning points amid a dramatic climax.


South Africa ratings

  • DAMIAN WILLEMSE: Ran well in broken play, returning England's kicks from deep. 7
  • SBU NKOSI: Showed quick feet to slip into the corner for a first-half try. 7
  • JESSE KRIEL: Frequently made inroads through the England midfield in a scrappy game. 7
  • DAMIAN DE ALLENDE: South Africa's most influential player. If only he had received more of the ball. 8
  • APHIWE DYANTYI: A quiet performance from the wing, who defended well. 5
  • HANDRE POLLARD: Struggled to dictate the play in a fragmented contest and missed a match-winning penalty. 5
  • IVAN VAN ZYL: Service was slow from the forwards, putting Van Zyl and the backline under pressure. 5
  • STEVEN KITSHOFF: Faced a stern test in opposition to Sinckler, but held firm. 5
  • MALCOLM MARX: Two poor throws at malfunctioning lineouts let England off the hook in the opening half. 6
  • FRANS MALHERBE: South Africa's scrum crumpled England's a couple of times in the first half, with the tighthead performing well. 6
  • EBEN ETZEBETH: The enforcer piled pressure on England, but South Africa did not take full advantage. Off injured after 42 minutes. 6
  • PIETER-STEPH DU TOIT: Bludgeoned holes in England's defence and made some crunching tackles of his own. 7
  • SIYA KOLISI: The skipper's performance was solid, if unspectacular. 6
  • DUANE VERMEULEN: Returning after missing the Rugby Championship, the heavyweight flanker did not have the impact he would have hoped for. 6
  • WARREN WHITELEY: Preferred to Vermeulen at number eight, Whiteley would have liked more running opportunities. 6
  • Replacements - The Springboks lost power with the fresh legs in the pack, but they rallied, with RG Snyman and Thomas du Toit faring well in the latter stages. 6

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