Ellis Genge and George Martin score late in first half as England close deficit to 17-14 at half-time
Grant Williams and Jesse Kriel tries extend South Africa's lead before Alex Coles crashes over
England have Tommy Freeman and Guy Pepper sin-binned as Springboks score two late tries and have one disallowed
England face Fiji in Liverpool next weekend before travelling to Argentina the following week
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Live Reporting
Alastair Telfer
Postpublished at 18:49 BST
18:49 BST
FT: South Africa 45-21 England
Paul Grayson Former England fly-half on BBC Radio 5 Live at Ellis Park
It's tough to put your finger on quite why England couldn't match South Africa physically because pound for pound going on the size of the packs and the weight of the players there's not much between them, but in terms of output the gap was massive.
England must beat Fiji next weekend because the storm clouds are gathering again.
'It was a great performance'published at 18:43 BST
18:43 BST
FT: South Africa 45-21 England
South Africa centre Damian de Allende, speaking to ITV: "It was a tough old Test match. We all knew England would come back, so it was a great response from us.
"We were very accurate at the beginning, but then ill-discipline crept in. We defended really well in patches.
Paul Grayson Former England fly-half on BBC Radio 5 Live at Ellis Park
The second half was hardly a contest. They never got a foothold in the game and because of that their attack was bits and pieces
South Africa smashed the door down, rarely played more than a couple of phases but squeezed the life out of England. They were uncomplicated and uncompromising.
Paul Grayson Former England fly-half on BBC Radio 5 Live at Ellis Park
England have been well beaten. It's been one-way traffic ever since the break. Irresistible power from a much-changed South Africa team. We thought the loss of Etzebeth and Kolisi before the game might have given England an in but South Africa have been completely on top.
Paul Grayson Former England fly-half on BBC Radio 5 Live at Ellis Park
The wheels fell off for England in the opening 15 minutes, they dragged themselves back into the game but since half-time South Africa have been by far the most dominant side and England's bench has had little impact.