England vs South Africa LIVE: Rugby result, final score and reaction from 2021 Autumn Nations Series
Eddie Jones’ side got some revenge against the world champion Springboks
England welcomed South Africa to Twickenham on Saturday afternoon in a mouthwatering rematch of the World Cup final two years on.
Fly-half Marcus Smith landed a last-minute penalty to snatch a 27-26 win as the hosts looked full of early promise but were hauled back by the battling Springboks in the teams’ first meeting since the 2019 showpiece.
England fashioned excellent early tries for Manu Tuilagi and Freddie Steward but were penalised relentlessly and four penalties for Handre Pollard kept South Africa within five points at the break.
The Springboks edged clear in the second half and, after tries by Raffie Quirke for England and Makazole Mapimpi for the Springboks, a Fran Steyne penalty put the visitors two points ahead with six minutes to go. England, though, mustered one final attack and earned a penalty on the 22 that Smith smashed over.
With star youngsters like Smith, Steward and Quirke breaking through across a fruitful autumn, Jones admitted the quest for the 2023 World Cup title hurtles ever closer. Asked if this autumn series represents a new England era, coach Eddie Jones replied: “Yes, we said in the summer that the Lions tour draws a line in the sand, and that you need to regenerate and have a little bit of a rebirth to go to the World Cup.
“There’s some good players coming through but we’ve got some pretty good experienced players too. They feel comfortable within themselves, they want to be together, they want to work together. Our stated aim is to win the World Cup, so we want to be better in the next campaign.”
France 0-0 New Zealand
1 min: Ntamack makes a break and that raises the noise levels in the Stade de France! He finds his half-back partner Antoine Dupont, but New Zealand slow France down.
Jonathan Danty goes for the kick through but Jordie Barrett gets across and then kicks for touch, but the All Blacks are back in their own corner!
KICK OFF! France 0-0 New Zealand
Wayne Barnes gets us underway in Paris! George Bridge collects for New Zealand - who are not in black tonight.
France vs New Zealand
New Zealand will look to get back to winning ways when they face France in Paris.
The All Blacks were humbled by Ireland in Dublin last weekend as the hosts secured a memorable victory, while France defeated Georgia 41-15.
It’s been 21 years since France last beat New Zealand on home soil and Les Blues have lost their last 14 matches against tonight’s opponents - including the 2011 World Cup final.
The All Blacks are without star fly-half Beauden Barrett due to concussion protocols while Romain Ntamack returns to number 10 for the French in place of Matthieu Jalibert.
Full time: Wales 29-28 Australia
Wayne Pivac says he is satisfied with his side’s performances this month. “We’ve build depth and we look forward to welcoming back our experienced internationals,” he says. Alun Wyn Jones, Ken Owens and George North are just some of the players on Wales’ lengthy injury list.
We now head over to Paris for live updates of the final match of the Autumn Nations Series - it’s France vs New Zealand.
France vs New Zealand LIVE: Latest rugby score and updates
Follow all the latest updates from the Stade de France
Full time: Wales 29-28 Australia
Ellis Jenkins: “It was relief to be honest. We made it more difficult for ourselves than we had to. Australia played some lovely stuff. We won ugly and you have to do that at times.
“The red card was clumsy, unfortunate, but it was a red card. We wanted to carry on playing [against 14 men] but we didn’t do that as well as we could have done.
“It’s never in doubt with Rhys.”
Full time: Wales 29-28 Australia
What an incredible final 20 minutes! Australia were so close to snatching the win away from Wales. This was the Wallabies’ best performance of their UK tour, but they still come away with three defeats from three.
Full time: Wales 29-28 Australia
Taine Basham, who won player of the match:
“I’m proud that we dug in to get the win there. We made it hard for ourselves, but we didn’t give up when two points down with two minutes to go.”
FULL TIME: WALES 29-28 AUSTRALIA
What an incredible finish! Priestland held his nerve and Wales have got away with it! It was in their control playing against 14 men and 10 points up, but Australia’s fight was incredible.
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