South Africa 45-21 England

South Africa v England Match Reports

South Africa scored seven tries as they beat England 45-21 in their opening Nations Championship fixture at Ellis Park. The Springboks made a blistering start with three tries from Thomas du Toit, Cheslin Kolbe and Kurt-Lee Arendse in the opening 12 minutes. England fought their way back into the contest with tries from Ellis Genge and George Martin to trail 17-14 at half-time. Grant Williams extended the Springboks' lead with a try shortly after the restart. Jesse Kriel added a fifth try as the match approached the hour mark. Alex Coles pulled one back for England, but the visitors were reduced to 13 men for the final 10 minutes when Tommy Freeman and Guy Pepper were sin-binned in quick succession. South Africa took full advantage as Malcolm Marx and Ben-Jason Dixon powered over for two further tries to seal a convincing victory. A selection of match reports is listed below:

• Autumn Internationals: South Africa inflict a fifth successive Test defeat on England
• BBC: England outclassed by seven-try South Africa
• Guardian: South Africa make statement with Nations Championship rout of England
• Sky Sports: Springboks show muscle in seven-try Nations Championship victory
• England Rugby: England beaten by South Africa in Nations Championship opener
• SA Rugby: Boks shift gears to bury England at Ellis Park