England edge out South Africa 12-11 at Twickenham

England 12-11 South Africa, Twickenham Stadium
Scorecard

Owen Farrell kicked the 73rd minute penalty goal as England edged out South Africa 12-11 in their opening game of the autumn internationals at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.

The victory will be a relief to Eddie Jones' side after they had earlier lost the series 2-1 to the same opposition during the summer series.

Handre Pollard kicked a sixth minute penalty goal after England were penalised for an off side. As the Boks applied more and more pressure winning penalties, referee Angus Gardner handed a yellow-card to Maro Itoje in the 16th minute reducing the hosts to 14-men temporarily.

Despite, the setback, Farrell kicked another three-pointer in the 21st minute as the scores were levelled 3-3. Rassie Erasmus' side kept attacking that did not give any dividend until the 33rd minute when Sibusiso Nkosi crossed over for the game's only try.

The conversion was missed and Farrell kicked his second penalty goal in the 37th minute to cut down the deficit to just two points before the break.

60' ENG 9 - 8 RSA

The moment @Mercer8Zach came on for his England debut ??

Watch #ENGvRSA LIVE now on @SkySports Main Event or Action ?? pic.twitter.com/39DnYiQEf4

— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) 3 November 2018

10 minutes into the second half, England claimed the lead for the first time in the game with a long-range penalty goal from Elliot Daly and slowly the hosts were looking to get into the groove after a disappointing first half.

However, the Boks snatched the lead back with Pollard's penalty kick in the 68th minute before Farrell's 73rd minute penalty kick. Pollard had his chance but his penalty with four minutes to go clipped outside of the right post as England completed a 12-11 victory.

A winning start to the #QuilterInternationals ?

This is what it means to the players...#CarryThemHome ?? pic.twitter.com/R3dPGT6scN

— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) 3 November 2018

ENG 12-11 RSA | Post-match reaction from @Sladey_10 ?? #ENGvRSA #CarryThemHome pic.twitter.com/cLGVWBiRxq

— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) 3 November 2018