England missed out on a place in the Rugby World Cup final after a narrow loss to defending champions South Africa.
Steve Borthwick’s side led for most of the game thanks to four goals and a goal from captain Owen Farrell and looked set to face New Zealand in next Saturday’s main match.
But a late exit from RG Snyman followed by a penalty from Handre Pollard gave the Springboks a 16-15 victory.
South Africa continues the crown they won in Japan 4 years ago.
England were not the favourites in the match against the reigning world champions, but they put in a strong performance, allowing the Springboks to lead for the last two and a half minutes of the match.
With just two points, England conceded a penalty in a scrum just inside their own halfway line, which duly passed through the posts through Pollard.
England’s players took a knee at the final whistle, heartbroken after giving it their all in a rematch of the 2019 final when they were remotely underdogs, and it was a particularly ruthless moment for Farrell given his extraordinary night.
Farrell was at the centre of many of his team’s most productive moments, even if they weren’t enough to secure England’s qualification for a second successive World Cup final.
Three times in a row, England nullified South Africa’s lineouts, winning a penalty in the third to ease the tension on their line.
All facets of the festival were won through England, but they were also their worst enemies as they dealt out 3 penalties, one of them for a moment of inflammation by Farrell that allowed Manie Libbok to score 3 points.
Libbok became the user to blame for South Africa’s problems when he replaced in the 32nd minute through Pollard in the hope that the 2019 World Cup winner would bring greater control.
Pollard’s first involvement to take a penalty and the developing tension became apparent as mistakes piled up on both sides, but when Farrell found the goal for the fourth time, England went into the break with a deserved 12-6 lead.
Leicester’s second lock, George Martin, had been at the forefront of the Red Rose resistance thanks to his wild tackles and, as the rain continued to fall, there was no chance of the game opening up.
Scrum-half Cobus Reinach and full-back Damian Willemse were sent off by South Africa, who now had Faf de Klerk and Willie le Roux on the pitch, before Eben Etzebeth followed them into the dugout.
The adjustments were a reflection of England’s and just when the Springboks seemed to be working their way into the race, Farrell scored a sensational drop goal.
England’s captain got gold with every touch when a cross thief lost the ball to Kurt-Lee Arendse, but South Africa began to pile up the consequences of the scrum.
Suddenly, the Springboks took it a step further and their squad started a lineout for Snyman to score.
The South African team had now been given a new lease of life, and when the moment of glory came, Pollard stepped in to inflict his monstrous penalty.