Rugby: South Africa 58 - 10 England

A burst of four tries in the last 10 minutes made a right mess of a brave England performance. Playing at altitude in Bloemfontein with a reserve squad ravaged by a virus picked up in Johannesburg, for the tourists this was always going to be more of an ordeal than an opportunity. And so it proved - a record total by South Africa against England, a record margin. The Springboks scored seven tries in all, each and every one of them converted by Percy Montgomery who finished with 23 points.

It sounds as if the home team were awesome. And there were indeed some stunning moments, including the running of Brain Habana, the try by Jean de Villiers and the outrageous skills of Ruan Pienaar and Francois Steyn at the end.

But they took their time to wear down a team that played with a strength they had no right to possess. Nobody talked tactics last week in the England camp. The only bulletins were medical, the only plans were to patch together some sort of team.

It also sounds like some sort of carnival, and if there was good cheer at the end up here in the heart of the Free State, there was less celebration at the beginning, the stadium being light by 10,000 of a full-house. The atmosphere was luke-warm. A routine win for the Springboks was all that was expected. This was a curtain-raiser to the Test season.

Could England shake the crowd into life? Well, they gave it a go. Nick Easter ran well from start to finish and had an early exchange with big Danie Rossouw. If this was going to be the upset to end all upsets the Springbok enforcers would have to be rattled.

Alex Brown did well at the line-out - or at least on his own throw - against the best second-row pair in the game, Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha. Andy Gomarsall snapped away at the heels of the pack, the terrier behind the bigger beasts.

For quarter of an hour England leaked nothing more serious than a couple of penalties by Percy Montgomery. They were not exactly threatening themselves but nor were they overstretched by the direct running of the Springbok midfield and back row. Jonny Wilkinson managed to throw a couple of chargers into the air. There was a whiff of nostalgia in the warm air.

And later, a sniff of something more horribly familiar. Wilkinson left the field injured in the closing minutes. England finished with Shaun Perry at scrum-half and Gomarsall in Wilkinson's place. It summed up their tortured week on tour.

Back at the beginning there seemed to be little sign of agony to come. It was growing almost sleepy and the minutes were ticking harmlessly by. Then South Africa struck. They were creating nothing much in the England 22 when all of a sudden they passed their way into an overlap situation. Ashwin Willemse greedily took his chance.

A second try soon followed, the only twist being that it came from England's most promising attack. It was started by Mathew Tait, the real Tait not the poor shopping basket carried around the Millennium Stadium on his debut in 2005. This modern Tait strung together an entire gallery of pretty-picture moves, including this first, gliding run.

His Newcastle colleagues rushed to support him. Wilkinson was there, to give a simple pass to Chris Jones, who might have caught the mood and kept things straightforward. Instead, the flanker sent a high looping pass ambitiously, but also unfortunately, into the arms of Bryan Habana. Back to the simple - nobody was going to catch the fastest player in the world.

The next try was the best. Rossouw gave a sign of a more delicate touch when he flipped the ball through his legs to De Villiers. Off went the center, cruising past Mike Brown, cutting past Iain Balshaw. At half time England trailed by 27 points, Wilkinson having landed a solitary penalty.

There was a possibility for half an hour that England might win the second half. South Africa let the game go loose. And in this less intense confrontation England looked anything but disgraced. They had their moment when James Simpson-Daniel went over in the corner. A record defeat seemed unlikely now.

But the Springboks finished with a flourish that combined their old power and some brilliant handling skills. Montgomery, Steyn and Pienaar - the South African bench was as busy as knackered England's - led the charge, counter-attacking with ever-increasing ambition.

Schalk Burger was bundled over for the least dramatic of the finishing burst of tries. As the flanker grinned his way back to halfway, Wilkinson lay on the floor. He wearily rose and limped off the field.

Pienaar caught a crossfield kick and set off down the wing. Steyn, who made a long-haired impression on tour last autumn, now sports less length up top, but his running and kicking were as eye-catching. Over he dashed for try number five.

There were two more to endure yet. For the first, Montgomery broke again and kicked downfield. England seemed to have it covered but did not reckon with the startling pace of Habana. He is phenomenally rapid.

The very last try was saved for the largest winger of the day. Not quite as quick as Habana, prop CJ van der Linde nevertheless positioned himself on the wide outside for the final gallop of the day. It brought the stadium to life. Celebrations all round.

Except of course among the England players left on the field. Logic says they should not really be here in World Cup year. The reality is that they are here and will have to go through this all over again next week in Pretoria.

SOUTH AFRICA Montgomery; Willemse (Steyn 53), Olivier, De Villiers (Pienaar 64), Habana; James, Januarie; Carstens (Steenkamp 48), Smit (capt; G Botha71), BJ Botha (Van der Linde ht), Bakkies Botha (Muller ht), Matfield, Burger, Smith, Rossouw (Spies 55)

Tries Willemse, Habana 2, De Villiers, Burger, Steyn, Van der Linde Cons Montgomery 7 Pens Montgomery 3

ENGLAND M Brown; Balshaw (Simpson-Daniel 58), Tait, Flood, Robinson (capt); Wilkinson (Perry 73), Gomarsall; Yates, Regan (Cairns 76), Turner (Crompton 53), Schofield, A Brown, Jones (Winters 56), Hazell (Sanderson ht), Easter

Try Simpson-Daniel Con Wilkinson Pen Wilkinson