The Springboks showed no mercy at Twickenham but England still have good grounds for optimism according to The Observer's Paul Hayward.
"Softened up by this imperious muscularity, England fell to a 21-11 scoreline that was rendered more respectable by Ben Foden's late breakaway try. Tom Croft and Toby Flood were wiped out before half‑time. Ben Youngs and Courtney Lawes soon followed them to the spectator seats. South Africa were in primal mode. Not dirty, just merciless, man‑on‑man. Instinct must have told them England had grown giddy on their new expansive style and needed to learn about subjugation.
"From this, much gloom will follow. The more pessimistic analysts will say England tricked us with that conquest of the Wallabies. They will talk of soft centres and old flaws. Many recruits have walked the path from early praise to damnation since 2007. Will this lot join them? Not if there is to be justice and logic in the end-of-term report on a side who displayed ambition against the All Blacks and Australia and great fortitude against the South Africa of Victor Matfield and Pierre Spies, before the barricades splintered with tries by Willem Alberts and Lwazi Mvovo. Too many penalties were conceded, too many mistakes made, but through the fog of disappointment you look for evidence that a new team are emerging – and there has been plenty of that over the past four weeks."
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