Following a demoralising defeat to Scotland, the embattled Springboks went from zero to hero in the space of a week after beating England 21-11 at Twickenham on Saturday.
South Africa dusted themselves off from a miserable afternoon at Murrayfield to silence their critics with a powerful performance that made up for last week's effort ten-fold.
It was an incredible return of serve from the world champions who may have had their Grand Slam dreams dashed, but at least restored some pride with one game left to play on tour against the Barbarians at the same venue next weekend.
Once again, the Boks' proved that they are a different kettle of fish with their backs up against the wall as England were left to find out the hard way -- enduring a seventh consecutive defeat to the men in green and gold.
The visiting pack was immense, dominating the collisions and set-pieces -- their line-out was simply outstanding -- however the backline were less impressive, making too many handling errors and lacking penetration on attack.
But it didn't matter as England were a shadow of the team that smashed the Wallabies two weeks ago. Out-thought and out-fought. That was the bottom line for England in an encounter which was not so much a rugby match as an arm-wrestle.
Gone were the pretty patterns woven by England in recent weeks. Instead they found themselves scrapping for possession. Desperately shoring up their defence. Fighting for their lives against the toughest, meanest team in rugby. They came up short.
The sides were level at half-time but after losing the influential Tom Croft and Toby Flood shortly before the break, England conceded a soft penalty straight after and it was all South Africa thereafter as the hosts wilted under pressure.
Replacement Willem Alberts was sent over in the right-hand corner before debutant winger Lwazi Mvovo ghosted through a stationary England backline five minutes later to effectively seal matters.
An intercept try from full-back Ben Foden two minutes from the end represented scant consolation for Martin Johnson's men, who battled hard but ultimately failed to deal with the might of the Springboks pack.
Toby Flood got the ball rolling with a straight-forward penalty in the fifth minute after a scintillating 30m run from Tom Croft that took play into kicking range for his fly-half, who didn't disappoint. It was just reward for an all-out England counter-attack instigated by Nick Easter.
The physicality of the match nearly claimed its first victim in the form of Chris Ashton following a mistimed tackle on Bok skipper Victor Matfield that saw the England winger come off second best. Dazed, Ashton saw more than stars flying over his head as Morne Steyn leveled the scores with a well-struck penalty in the tenth minute.
The big hits kept coming in, and this time it was the impressive-looking Croft who felt the punishing effects of a brutal Test that would see the flanker forced off the pitch clutching his forearm. It was a cruel blow for England, but the hosts pressed on and took the lead once more thanks to another three points from Flood.
At this point it seemed whatever England did, South Africa could do better as the world champions clicked into a higher gear and nearly accelerated over the line only for Matfield to have the ball knocked from his grasp with the tryline begging.
The missed opportunities wouldn't end there for the Boks, however, after the two Steyns -- Morne and Francois -- watched in angst as their respective penalty efforts hit the posts and denied South Africa six points.
Flood, injured in the build-up to the Matfield effort, failed to make the interval and was replaced by Charlie Hodgson, while opposite number Steyn levelled matters four minutes before the end of the half after England spoiled a ruck on their own line.
Three minutes after the break and South Africa were ahead for the first time -- veteran Mike Tindall spotted in an offside position.
England responded well though, driving towards the line through Dylan Hartley and Easter, and although they camped on the try-line for several minutes looking for an opening, Easter was hit by three defenders and the ball fell clear as the Springboks survived.
South Africa began to ring the changes with prop CJ Van Der Linde and flanker Alberts sent on -- and both made an immediate impact.
The England scrum struggled as the Springboks wheeled one and then hooked a ball against the head. Morne Steyn kicked ahead and wing Mark Cueto conceded the line-out.
South Africa drove through phase after phase before moving the ball wide and number eight Pierre Spies' wonderful, delayed pass sent Alberts over in the corner. Morne Steyn was off-target with the conversion, but it had become a war of attrition and in such circumstances there was only likely to be one outcome.
Hodgson tried a cross-kick which Mvovo gathered and he then drew the penalty as Ashton and Shontayne Hape came off their feet and Morne Steyn teed up the attacking line-out.
Both Steyns dropped back into position for a drop goal but the Springboks instead worked the ball wide for Mvovo, who brushed past Ashton to score on 70 minutes.
England never really looked like creating an opening were before they gifted a late try after Foden picked off Van Der Linde's offload and sprinted 90 metres to score. Tindall tried the quick drop-goal conversion and hit the post, summing up their afternoon.
Man of the match: While Bismarck du Plessis was named the official man of the match, it could have gone to any of the Bok heavies. Which is why we're going for a collective effort! Special mention for England lock Courtney Lawes -- he was everywhere!
Moment of the match: Tough to choose between new Bok recruits Willem Alberts and Lwazi Mvovo. But we'll go for Mvovo's touchdown, as the Bok speedster sealed the win with his first Test try.
Villain of the match: None spring to mind, but we have a funny feeling you'll prove us wrong -- answers on a postcard please!
The scorers:
For England:
Try: Foden
Pens: Flood 2
For South Africa:
Tries: Alberts, Mvovo
Cons: M Steyn
Pens: M Steyn 3
England: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Mike Tindall, 12 Shontayne Hape, 11 Mark Cueto, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Lewis Moody (c), 6 Tom Croft, 5 Tom Palmer, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Andrew Sheridan.
Replacements: 16 Steve Thompson, 17 David Wilson, 18 Simon Shaw, 19 Hendre Fourie, 20 Danny Care, 21 Charlie Hodgson, 22 Matt Banahan.
South Africa: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Gio Aplon, 13 Frans Steyn, 12 Jean De Villiers, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Morne Steyn, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Victor Matfield (capt), 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 CJ Van der Linde, 18 Flip van der Merwe, 19 Willem Alberts, 20 Francois Hougaard, 21 Patrick Lambie, 22 Adi Jacobs.
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
In a game that was riddled with handling errors and penalties, the power of the Italian pack in the second-half was enough to quell the attacking prowess of the Fijians in the first forty minutes.
It was just the second Test match between the two rugby nations.
In a contest which produced no tries, it was left to the boots of Morgan Parra and Felipe Contepomi to decide the outcome with France's scrum-half coming out tops.
The All Blacks were on the attack from the outset, collecting the kick-off and racing down to the Irish 22 with backs and forwards combining with great ease and effect.
It was an amazing turnaround for the hosts who were thumped by New Zealand a week ago, but -- against all odds -- bounced back superbly to record a memorable victory and restore some pride.
Martin Johnson's side were trailing 6-8 in the 42nd minute after Sale full-back Paul Williams had caught the Red Rose napping. But from there, the home side clicked into gear as scores from Matt Banahan and Tom Croft won it.
In a match that lacked any really quality, it was the boot of Berrick Barnes that ensured that Robbie Deans' men picked up the second scalp on their end-of-year tour. However, it was far from a performance that will quell the growing discontent amongst the Australian press and public.
The talk before the game had been of restoring morale after defeats by Australia and South Africa, in preparation for the visit of New Zealand next week.
Playing in front of 8,000 at University of Madrid's Complutense University Stadium on an overcast Saturday afternoon in Madrid, the Canadian men utilized a strong forward presence with a backline that was eager to run to notch a handy victory over the Lions.
In atrocious conditions it was never going to be the high-thrills match we had all hoped for. France scored three tries, including a penalty try as their scrum came good in the closing stages after a rather poor start.
It was a demoralising defeat for the Scots, who could only look on helplessly as the All Blacks condemned their hosts to a record home defeat.
Needing a try to snatch victory, Wales laid siege to the South African line in the closing stages, going through some 15 phases of possession in injury-time, but some superb defence kept them at bay as the Springboks made it two wins from two games on European soil.
It was an 80-minute effort that saw Lewis Moody lift the Cook Cup and the champagne sprayed. The victory -- inspired by two tries from wing Chris Ashton and 25 points via the assured boot of Toby Flood -- has also sent out a warning shot to rivals ahead of next year's World Cup.
Neither side were able to build any momentum in a game punctuated by a plethora of knock-ons and schoolboy errors.
Ireland ended their six-match losing streak but will remain deeply concerned by their deteriorating form after struggling to dispatch the visitors.
Certainly the conditions were heavy, with a steady drizzle and muddy pitch conspiring to slow quick movements down and put the onus on the set piece and control in the forwards to open the match.
There have been a few comments regarding ''traditional'' Test match rugby of late and the purists wouldn't have been disappointed in Dublin.
It really was a game of two halves in London, the visitors enjoying a great deal of ball in the first 40 before England upped their game in the second.
The Wallabies were a far cry from the team that humbled the mighty All Blacks a week ago, but made the most of their opportunities to record back-to-back wins on the road.