South Africa vs England player ratings: Faf de Klerk and Willie le Roux inspire Springboks to nail-biting victory

Man-for-man marking from the first Test at Ellis Park

England succumbed to their fifth straight defeats to leave them facing an almighty challenge if they are to win a first series in South Africa after suffering a 42-39 loss in the first Test on Saturday, meaning they must win their remaining two matches.

In what turned into a 10-try thriller, England exploded out of the blocks and were 24-3 to the good in just 17 minutes thanks to tries from Mike Brown, Elliot Daly and Owen Farrell, but the fast start kicked the Springboks into life.

Back they fought with a smart try from Faf De Klerk, with the Sale Sharks scrum-half returning to the international team along with Willie Le Roux and Duane Vermuelen as new head coach Rassie Erasmus lifted the ban on overseas players.

It was a historical day too for captain Siya Kolisi, who became the first black captain of the Springboks, and he was giving his side an uplifting team talk immediately after a double from debutant S’busiso Nkosi – the first after a big error from Daly and the second through brilliant team play, while Le Roux added a fourth before the break to seal a 29-24 half-time lead.

England continued to struggle after the restart with the other wing, Aphiwe Dyantyi, crossing midway through the second half. But it triggered a fightback as first Maro Itoje and then Jonny May – the second a brilliant length of the field effort – brought England to within two points with two minutes remaining.

But Handre Pollard’s penalty kept the Springboks clear and secured a 1-0 advantage heading to the second Test next week in Bloemfontein.

Faf de Klerk scored the first try and ran the game for the Springboks (Getty)

So how did the players perform? Click on the gallery above to see how they rated.