The Springboks claimed a 2-0 Test series win with a 36-27 victory over England at Ellis Park on Saturday. The home side led comfortably at 28-10 before England did well to come back into the match in the second half.
The result was seemingly clear by halftime as South Africa bullied England into submission with powerful play up front, including a much improved performance at the breakdown, and some speedy service from halfback Francois Hougaard.
England fought back in the second half, as Morne Steyn missed kicks at goal, and scrumhalf Ben Youngs scored two well taken tries. JP Pietersen started and finished a great try for the Springboks though, taking the game away from England and thus clinching the match and series win.
The two sides meet again in the third Test in Port Elizabeth this coming Saturday. The Springboks have made some forced changes through injury, with flyer Gio Aplon coming in for Pat Lambie.
“He can do something magic from the back. He runs great lines, has unbelievable feet and brings an X-factor,” said Heyneke Meyer, who named Jean De Villiers as captain for the rest of the season.
“Jean has been unbelievable as captain and has matched my expectations. We want to plan for the rest of the year. It was very easy to make him captain.
“It is always important to have a special leader to gel the team and there is a lot of respect for him from the players. I have worked with a lot of good captains and he is right up there,” he said.
Below are match highlights, and if you’d like to watch the whole thing again you can do so here.
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