A clinical display of counter-attacking rugby and solid defence saw England record their third consecutive victory over South Africa at Twickenham on Saturday, beating the Boks by a record margin of 29-9.
In doing so Clive Woodward's men became the first European nation to gain five successive Test victories over southern hemisphere opposition.
By the time Dan Luger scored an intercept try in the final minute, the writing was already on the wall for the Boks. They were not up to standard, while England continued their surge up the ladder in world rugby.
The Springboks, now with their backs against the wall after their second Test defeat in three weeks, were guilty of knock-ons and giving away unnecessary penalties, like they did against France and Italy. This time the Boks conceded 16 penalties to England's 10.
England, on the other hand, sat back and waited for the Boks to make mistakes before they pounced. On a number of occasions the English won kickable penalties after the Boks were penalised for everything from hands in the ruck to offside at the line-out.
Jonny Wilkinson, probably the top flyhalf in the world today, kept the scoreboard ticking and he missed only two from nine attempts at goal.
The Boks did show a bit more urgency than against France and Italy, but coach Harry Viljoen needs to do some serious rethinking of where he's going with the 2003 World Cup in mind.
Woodward will be happy now that his side has beaten the Wallabies twice and the Boks three times in the last two years. They must be one of the favourites going into 2003 and need only build on their current structure in the next 18 months.
With players like Wilkinson, Jason Robinson and Danny Grewcock England must be early favourites with the All Blacks at this stage.
Robinson, shaken by an early illegal tackle by Bok skipper Bob Skinstad, regained his composure and ran pinball in the second half. He bounced the one Bok defender off after the other, setting up great attacking opportunities for the home team.
Skinstad's woes started in the first minute and ended in the final minute, when Dan Luger intercepted a wayward pass on the England try-line. The flyer raced away for his 17th Test try for the men in white.
The Bok skipper had one of his worst games in a green jersey, losing the ball on numerous occasions with 50/50 passes, also knocking on a few times.
The home team did well to stay focused throughout the game and they deserved victory after leading 9-6 at the break. Wilkinson (three) and Van Straaten (two) landed five penalty goals between the two of them.
The home team also attacked more than the visitors, but Louis Koen did exceptionally well to keep the English pinned back in their own half with pin-point tactical kicking. Why he ceased to do that in the second half is a mystery.
Koen also tested Robinson from the start of the game, and Skinstad took the nuggety fullback's feet from under him with his first touch.
Stupid transgressions like that, coupled with unnecessary handling errors, crept back into the Springboks' game, and they lost valuable ball in great attacking situations.
Van Straaten missed two attempts at goal, both 55-metre efforts that had the distance, but not direction.
In the end South Africa could not sustain their pressure while the English increased the pressure after the break, forcing mistakes by the Boks and happily converting it into three-pointers.
Man of the match: Well, if England did not have Jonny Wilkinson, the result may have been different. This 22-year-old has cemented himself as the top pivot in the world, and after Saturday, the Springboks will know why!
Moment of the match: In the 58th minute, Mike Catt slotted a drop goal that effectively put an end to the Boks' charge, as the visitors fell behind by 12 points at that stage.
Villain of the match: Bok skipper Bob Skinstad had a terrible game in the green and gold, losing lots of quality ball in attacking positions with bad passing.
The Teams:
South Africa: 1 Ollie Le Roux, 2 John Smit, 3 Willie Meyer, 4 Victor Matfield, 5 Mark Andrews, 6 A.J. Venter, 7 Andre Vos, 8 Bobby Skinstad (c), 9 Joost Van Der Westhuizen, 10 Louis Koen, 11 Dean Hall, 12 Trevor Halstead, 13 Braam Van Straaten, 14 Breyton Paulse, 15 Conrad Jantjes
Reserves: Lukas Van Biljon, Corne Krige, Andre Venter, Cobus Visagie
Unused: Deon De Kock, Percy Montgomery, Andre Snyman
England: 1 Graham Rowntree, 2 Dorian West, 3 Phil Vickery, 4 Danny Grewcock, 5 Martin Johnson (c), 6 Neil Back, 7 Richard Hill, 8 Joe Worsley, 9 Kyran Bracken, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 11 Austin Healey, 12 Mike Catt, 13 Will Greenwood, 14 Dan Luger, 15 Jason Robinson
Reserves: Ben Kay, Mike Tindall, Lewis Moody
Unused: Jason Leonard, Mark Regan, Ben Cohen, Charlie Hodgson
Attendance: 75000
Referee: Dickinson/mchugh
Points Scorers:
South Africa
Pen K.: Van Straaten A.J.J. 3
England
Tries: Luger D.D. 1
Pen K.: Wilkinson J.P. 7
Drop G.: Catt M.J. 1
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