The word Marcus Smith kept using to sum up why England won was ‘courage’. It takes a hefty dose of physical bravery to beat the Springboks, but what Smith meant was the courage to keep taking risks.
This backs-to-the-wall victory over the world champions was the result which launched a new, exciting era for England but the delight was in the detail. It was the way they did it which was so significant. Smith settled a classic at Twickenham with a last-minute penalty from in front of the posts but that does not tell the story — and what a story it was.
After half-time, Eddie Jones’s side were under siege against a dominant South African pack and they gave away penalties in torrents. But they clinched a clean sweep of autumn wins because of their never-say-die courage.
Marcus Smith held his nerve to give England victory against South Africa on Saturday
They refused to accept what for so long appeared to be a hopeless cause. And they refused to stop trusting their daring instincts.
Very few teams have found ways to repeatedly breach South Africa’s blitz but Jones’s men did so a third time 15 minutes from the end when fly-half Smith’s looping, gesticulating run distracted the visitors just enough for Henry Slade to release Joe Marchant, who in turn sent substitute scrum-half Raffi Quirke clear to score.
That lightning strike was further evidence of English creativity which had been gloriously showcased in the first half, when Slade’s daring long pass ignited the raid which led to a try for full back Freddie Steward. The home side were rewarded for being bold, from start to finish.
When England were behind and chasing in the last five minutes, they didn’t revert to blasting away in futile hope — quite the opposite. Smith’s chip for Marchant to chase earned a penalty and a yellow card for Boks captain Siya Kolisi.
Next, Slade threw a long pass right deep in his own half to spark a counter-attack, before Smith fizzed the ball flat across Jesse Kriel and out to wing Jonny May. It was an act of dazzling audacity.
With England trailing 26-24 late in the second half, Smith stepped up to win the game
Then came the check-mate moment, as the England No 10 shaped to kick, before opting to side-step past one, two and almost three defenders, drawing a penalty offence from the hapless Frans Steyn in centre field. The shot at goal which followed was all about composure, but what led to it was all about calculated risk which earned an epic reward.
Smith said: ‘We just thought we had to provide a different picture to South Africa and to do that we had to have courage. We prepared brilliantly for the game and it was just a showcase of our training. We really did have courage to chance it at times.
‘We had to have the courage to keep playing
