The charge of the heavy brigade ended face down in the dirt, an inch short of where it needed to be. One man up, nine points down, and with 11 minutes to play, England were right up on South Africa’s try-line, so close to the score they needed to grab control of the match. Harry Randall was sure he could get there, he went, one, two, three strides forwards towards the line, and was wrapped up in a tackle. Dan Cole came in after, gathered up the ball and pressed onwards. Cole made it all the way to the line, and no further. The South African tacklers held him there, and pressed his face down into the ground so he could watch the attack unravel behind him.
So the match-winning moment came, and went again, as it often seems to for this England team. It passed them by like a Springbok wing slipping a tackle. Afterwards, of course, they talked about the positives. They always talk about the positives. The effort, the endeavour, the bravery, the willingness to keep going, and going, and going, in the face of all those blows, like a boxer who prides himself on his ability to stay upright after taking punches. But the blunt truth is that this year has left a clear picture of England’s limitations. That’s five straight defeats now, three to New Zealand, one apiece to Australia and South Africa, the last by the widest margin of the lot.
