Rugby Live

Finished Saint-Denis

England 0 - South Africa 36

England

South Africa

  • Live Commentary

    Time:80'
    • England
    • South Africa
    • 80' It's all over and England fall to the heaviest defeat in their World Cup history. It is difficult to see where they can go from here and their progress out of the pool stages must now be in real doubt. As for the Boks, well they did what they had to do, looked impressive enough but really were never seriously challenged. Who would have thought this four years ago!
    • 79' Good chase from Moody but the Boks clear their lines well.
    • 78' Boks nick the ball at the break-down and only a deliberate knock on from Sackey prevents them from going over again! Penalty Boks and Montgomery adds another three points. Great kick! 36-0.
    • 76' Easter wriggles free and feeds Chuter. Boks concede penalty and England take quick tap. But it's all so static and no running from deep!! Noon is down now and it looks like his knee!
    • 76' Olivier on for Styen.
    • 75' Farrell almost through but his pass is intercepted and England then concede penalty and loow Boks to clear the danger.
    • 74' England not giving up and pounding away. But Boks look happy just to tackle the clock down and save their attacking best for later challenges. Penalty England 5m from Boks line.
    • 72' England pinch one against the head and spread it wide to Sackey. Ball comes back and Lewsey has a go for the line but the cover is there. England recyle the ball and drive it up the middle. But Boks turn ball over and hoof it up field. Tait back to cover and kicks long. Boks knock on for an England scrum.
    • 71' Skinstad on for Smith, du Plessis for Smit.
    • 70' Decent drive from England forwards but it's all a little too late. England spill ball in midfield but ref had awarded penalty to them for Boks coming in around the side. England kick for touch into Boks 22m area.
    • 68' England trying to run the ball out of defence, Farrell keeping ball alive and Kay finds space up the middle. At least England trying something now. Farrell puts long kick downfield but Mongomery replies with interest. Not very intelligent from England.
    • 66' Boks keep the ball up and win scrum. Pienaar on for the excellent Du Preez.
    • 65; Boks break out from the restart and immediately push England baack to their own line! Quick throw from England.
    • 65' Montgomery adds another two points! 33-0.
    • 64' Du Preez breaks blind from the scrum, evades all of England's defence and finds Pietersen on the right for his second try! 31-0.
    • 61' Corry takes a quick tap but loses his support and Boks force turnover and feed Habana on the left . Farrell does well to keep him under check. Fourie kicks for touch deep into England 22m. England win throw but its not straight and scrum down Boks.
    • 60' England have produced nothing to worry the Boks as Habana comes back on after a blood injury. He looks like he wants some more tries. Free kick England, they take it quickly but give away scrum for a forward pass. Boks really don't have much to do as England are their own worst enemies!
    • 60' England win line out and drive towards Boks line. But Catt knocks on and scrum down Boks! Dear oh dear!
    • 59' Farrell goes cross field for Tait but Boks defence win the ball, but give away penalty for Du Preez taking him out in mid-air. Line-out England 5m from Boks line. A tad lucky there England.
    • 58' Tait on for Robinson and England again spread it wide.
    • 57' England at last spread the abll with some conviction but Robinson pulls up with what clearly looks like a hamstring injury. That could spell the end of his World Cup! Can it get any worse for the defending champions. Robinson gets a big round of applause. That could be his last touch for England.
    • 56' Chuter on and Regan off - about time!
    • 56' Pietersen knocks on and England have an attacking scrum on Boks' 22m line. Habana off and Pienaar on.
    • 55' Shaw off and Borthwick on.
    • 54' England concede penalty for coming in at the side and Montgomery goes for goal. 26-0.
    • 53' Moody on for Rees, like for like really and can't see how it will change England's pedestrian apce!
    • 53' Robinson tries to break out of defence but the ball is spilled in the pass and Fourie almost gets away! Robinson has a nasty cut and looks like he'll need stitches.
    • 52' Muller on, Bakkies Botha off.
    • 51' England clearly have no confidence and the Boks are in total control. At least Robinson is doing his bit with another superb take at full-back. Catt clears into the Boks half.
    • 50' This time it's Montgomery's turn to pin England back with a lovely kick with the outside of his boot. Great technique from the full-back.
    • 49' Du Preez nudges the ball 30m down the right touch and pins England back on their 22m line.
    • 47' England force turn over from the restart and finally have a position from which to attack. Robinson tries to dance his way, ball is moved wide to Kay on the left and the lock tries to..... chip the ball. What is going on!!! Boks easily clear their lines!
    • 46' Montgomery makes it 23-0.
    • 45' Du Preez puts up another superb bomb and the Boks again win possession. England concede penalty for hands in a ruck and Boks have another chance for three points.
    • 44' Catt goes for touch but Habana races back and clears the danger with a beautiful clearance up to the half-way line. Fine defencive play from the speedster.
    • 43' England forwards drive but Boks hold them up and force a scrum down.
    • 42' Another superb high-ball catch from Robinson and Catt finds touch. Throw to England as the ball flicked a Boks finger on the way out. Shaw is in the wars and looks in need of patching up.
    • 41' Gomarsall is on for Perry and immediately puts up a decent high ball.
    • 40' Boks get the game restarted.
    • 40' Ref blows for half-time and England already look a beaten side. Ashton needs to work miracles at the break but it's hard to see how he's going to turn it around. The Boks are the better team pretty much all across the park. 20-0 at half-time.
    • 39' Montgomery adds two more to make it 20-0. England already looking dead and buried.
    • 38' Boks go over again through Pietersen. England dispossesed,, Farrell tries to hack ahead but Du Preez makes break from deep and feeds his winger. 18-0.
    • 37' Boks playing percentage game here and doing it very well. Their kicking is spot on and they're making the most of their possession, unlike England.
    • 36' England concede penalty for Stevens blocking in front of the ball at the ruck. Chance for Montgomery to put Boks 13-0 ahead which he does comfortably.
    • 35' Another superb touch finder from James drives England back into their 22m area!
    • 34' England miss touch again and Montgomery given all the time in the world to go for another long drop goal - but luckily for England he is wide again!
    • 33' England miss touch again and James find lovely angled touch finder and pushes England back to 5m from their own line!
    • 31' Good touch from Catt moves England into Boks half.
    • 29' Lovely long touch finder from Montgomery pushes England back on to their 22m area. Perry keeps kicking ball away and not looking on top of his game so far. Engladn take line-out but Farrell charged down - Robinson back to touch down!!
    • 28' Robinson takes a mark, makes a stunning break up field, the ball is fed to Farrell who finds a lovely touch in the Boks 22m area. Well played England but Boks take line out cleanly.
    • 27' Steyn this time wide with a drop goal effort. Another let off for England!
    • 25' Montgomery goes for a long drop goal but hooks it and give England 22m drop out. Boks put up andother up and under from the drop out and Habana takes it beautifully. England under pressure in their 22m area!
    • 25' Du Preez is running this game, turning England at every chance and preventing them from getting any kind of momentum.
    • 24' Du Preez chips over and Pietersen's chase forces knock on from Sackey. Scrum down Boks on England 22m line.
    • 23' Good scrum England and they win a free kick and clear to touch on the half-way line. But the Boks win their throw and drive up field.
    • 21' England steal a line-out - at least their forwards are taking it to the Boks now - but England concede another penalty. Du Preez takes it quickly again and the ball bounces kindly for Fourie but Lewsey tackles him and the ball is knocked on. Let off for England!!
    • 20' England win scrum against the head but Perry's kick goes straight to touch! Another error from the number nine!
    • 19' Matt Stevens is receiving treatment for what looks like a dead arm. He's up and running again. Just as well as he's the only available tighthead in the England squad.
    • 17' England driving through their forwards but the Boks defence holds firm and force turnover. Habana gets the ball but Noon nails him. Great tackle and England at last have some ball.
    • 16' England win a penalty but Catt misses touch and Boks clear to touch just outside their 22m line.
    • 15' England kick out on the full and it's line-out back in their own half. Looks a rather dodgy decision as Butch James looked to carry the ball into touch!!
    • 13' Boks spill the ball in midfield and England hack up field. Boks retain possession but their kick is loose and England run it back through Easter. Ball is recycled a couple of times and fed to Catt whose drop goal effort goes wide.
    • 12' England want to slow Boks down but du Preez is keeping the tempo lively. England must at least win their own ball but they're not even doing that cleanly at this stage!!
    • 10' England concede penalty for not rolling away at the tackle and Steyn has a chance for goal from the left side. Superb kick from the youngster and Boks move 10-0 up. Not looking good for England!
    • 8' England concede another free kick at the scrum and Fourie takes a quick kick up field. Robinson gathers but misses touch and the ball is fed to Habana who avoids the first tackle but is taken down by Lewsey. England need to find touch and keep the ball away from this man!!
    • 7' Rossouw knocks on at the restart and gives England a scrum in the Boks 22m area. Can England respond quickly?
    • 7' Montgomery adds the conversion to make it 7-0. Not a great start by England!
    • 6' Pietersen breaks a Perry tackle down the right wing, he's stopped short by Robinson but the ball is kept alive by du Preez and Juan Smith is in support to go over for the Boks. 5-0.
    • 5' Another bomb on England and Robinson takes it beautifully, and the ball is fed to Farrell who finds a great touch. Well played England.
    • 4' Free kick to Boks and du Preez puts up a high kick which Lewsey takes cleanly for a mark.
    • 4' Catt finds touch just inside the Boks half.
    • 2' Penalty Boks for England coming round the side of a ruck and Montgomery kicks them into England half. Line out well taken by Bakkies Botha but Smit knocks on and England force a scrum down.
    • 2' Springboks take the start cleanly in their forwards and feeds Steyn who kicks up field. But Robinson replies with interest to push the Boks back into their own half.
    • 1' Andy Farrell kicks off and gets the game underway.
    • - It's a glorious evening in Paris and with 80,000 fans descending on the Stade de France it promises to be a fantastic evening - highly-charged on the pitch with an electric atmosphere in the stands. This is what the World Cup is all about!!!!
    • - The Springboks, meanwhile, are missing their talismanic flanker Schalk Burger, who is serving a two-match ban for a dangerous tackle during the Boks' win over Samoa. Wikus van Heerden replaces Burger on the blindside flank. The highly-physical Samoa clash also cost them their centre Jean de Villiers, who is out with a torn bicep muscle. Frans Steyn comes into the South Africa midfield.
    • - Both sides have had their preparation disrupted by injury and suspension. England are without a front-line fly-half owing to injuries to Jonny Wilkinson and Olly Barkley, which means Mike Catt steps into the number 10 role. Andy Farrell starts at 12 and takes over the kicking duties. England are also without their skipper Phil Vickery since the Wasps prop has been suspended for a trip in the USA game. Matt Stevens takes over at prop while Martin Corry is handed the captain's armband.
    • - Well, it's almost upon us - England's long-awaited showdown with the mighty Springboks, arguably the most mouth-watering clash of the group stages. England have it all to prove this evening and must lay down a marker to regain their confidence and start looking like potential champions. There's all to play for this evening - expect a titanic clash!

  • Summary

    England versus South Africa
      Tries Smith 6’, Pietersen 38’, 64’
      Conversions Montgomery 7’, 38’, 65’
      Penalties Steyn 11’, Montgomery 36’, 46’, 55’, 79’
      Drops  

Live Team Line-Up

  • Referee: Paul Honiss

  • England

    Manager: Brian Ashton

    On the Field

    • Sheridan Substitution Out (77′)
    • Regan Substitution Out (58′)
    • Stevens
    • Shaw Substitution Out (56′)
    • Kay
    • Corry
    • Rees Substitution Out (54′)
    • Easter
    • Perry Substitution Out (41′)
    • Catt
    • Sackey
    • Farrell
    • Noon Substitution Out (78′)
    • Lewsey
    • Robinson Substitution Out (58′)

    Subs

    • Chuter Substitution In (58′)
    • Borthwick Substitution In (56′)
    • Richards Substitution In (78′)
    • Gomarsall Substitution In (41′)
    • Freshwater Substitution In (77′)
    • Moody Substitution In (54′)
    • Tait Substitution In (58′)

    Injured

    None

    Suspended

    None

  • South Africa

    Manager: Jack White

    On the Field

    • Du Randt Substitution Out (61′)
    • Smit Substitution Out (72′)
    • Botha
    • Botha Substitution Out (52′)
    • Matfield
    • van Heerden
    • Smith Try Substitution Out (72′)
    • Rossouw
    • du Preez Substitution Out (70′)
    • James Substitution Out (72′)
    • Habana Substitution Out (57′)
    • Steyn Substitution Out (76′)
    • Fourie
    • Pietersen Tries×2
    • Montgomery

    Subs

    • Skinstad Substitution In (72′)
    • van der Linde Substitution In (61′)
    • Pretorius Substitution In (72′)
    • Olivier Substitution In (76′)
    • Pienaar Substitution In (65′)
    • Muller Substitution In (52′)
    • du Plessis Substitution In (72′)

    Injured

    None

    Suspended

    None