Rating the hapless Boks

Willie le Roux 4.5/10: Had a decent start with a few good touchfinders, but he became just plain poor after that as he either over-kicked his kicks or just lacked accuracy – which gave England good territory. Saved the Boks from trouble when he dived on the ball after a chip kick by England. Good under the high ball.

Ruan Combrinck 4.5/10: I probably saw him touch the ball two and a half times in the first half. Had a bit more ball in the second half, but couldn’t spark anything. He showed his power when he sent Dylan Hartley to the ground with a fend as he ran down touch after an outside pass from Rudy Paige. Made his tackles. Could not control the ball in the build-up to England’s second try. His boot didn’t disappoint as he converted Le Roux’s try from 41-metres out (at an angle, by the way).

Francois Venter 5.5/10: Made a number of runs. Made his tackles. Secured a turnover in the second quarter. Carelessly chucked the ball away after a big run by Mtawarira. He dropped the ball after receiving a pass and then almost had his pass intercepted in the last few minutes. Lovely offload in the build-up to Johan Goosen’s try.

Damian de Allende 4/10: He was very quiet. Made a few runs early on but he became anonymous as the clock ticked on. Slipped a tackle before that first try. Mindless chip from just outside England’s 22.

JP Pietersen 3/10: I don’t know why he was panting like someone who had just run a marathon in the first half when he didn’t do anything on the field (except for chasing the occasional kick). He looked more involved in the second 40. He tried to gather a regulation high ball but instead he knocked it forward – which led to an England try before half time.

Patrick Lambie 4.5/10: Gave the Boks the early lead with a well-struck lengthy penalty kick. He got a good taste of Owen Farrell when the busy centre charged down his cross-kick early on, but it was some great initiative on Lambie’s part (and I was very happy to see him do it more than once). And he showed great calmness to send that drop goal over shortly afterwards. But he didn’t do much for his centres and he had by no means a commanding game. England also targeted his channel.

Rudy Paige 4/10: He was way too slow at getting the ball out. Lost the ball in the tackle. He made his tackles and put in a massive one that drove his opposite man Ben Youngs back in the tackle. His clearance kicks from the base were poor. So he should probably work on that since it’s something he seems to fancy very much.

Warren Whiteley 5.5/10: Off his feet at the breakdown in the first 10 minutes. He gained some good ground with his carries and he perfectly timed his pass to Goosen that put him away for the try.

Pieter-Steph du Toit 3.5/10: His game was disappointing to say the least, but let’s remember he played out of position. He was solid in the lineouts and did well to get the ball out. But that’s about as good as it got for him. Will have nightmares about the dummies he bought from Youngs.

Willem Alberts 4/10: The one thing that he is there to do (dominate with his physicality) we didn’t see him do at all. He made more carries than most of his team mates, but nothing came of it.

Lood de Jager 4/10: He was good at the lineouts, but he couldn’t do much in open play.

Eben Etzebeth 4/10: He dropped a ball and missed a few tackles before Billy Vunipola’s forearm connected with his head and he had to leave the field.

Vincent Koch 5/10: Strongly broke through after an attacking Bok lineout to offload to Alberts. Made good tackles… and he actually completed them. His scrummaging was okay, but he struggled to exert dominance over Mako Vunipola.

Adriaan Strauss 6/10: He found his jumpers and did a decent job at the breakdowns. Also made a few carries and gained some metres.

Tendai Mtawarira 6/10: Impressive run in the first quarter when he picked the ball up at a ruck and broke through to secure a few metres for the Boks. Strong at scrum time. Contributed on defence.

Steven Kitshoff 5/10: He was solid at the scrums and he got stuck in there at the breakdowns.

Lourens Adriaanse 3.5/10: He saw very little ball and struggled to make an impact.

Franco Mostert 4/10: He made a telling contribution at the lineouts, but he didn’t do much with ball-in-hand.

Faf de Klerk 4/10: He got the ball out very quickly and made one or two courageous tackles, but that was about it.

Johan Goosen 4/10: Scored the Boks’ first try, but just like the rest of his team, he looked clueless with ball in hand. Failed to convert his try. Fumbled a high-ball (lost it backwards) and then topped it off with a horrible kick to touch. Gave a good pass to Le Roux to score the last try.