The series was among the first to mark a return to the format of traditional tours, after the International Rugby Board (IRB) decided in 2010 to revive the concept, which could include mid-week matches against representative or club sides.

[2] The last time the two sides met was in 2010 at Twickenham, when the Springboks won 21 – 11, marking their seventh straight win against England.

On 10 May, England coach Stuart Lancaster announced his initial 42-man squad for the tour to South Africa consisting of 23 forwards and 19 backs.

[3] Forwards: Mouritz Botha (Saracens), Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers), Alex Corbisiero (London Irish), Paul Doran-Jones (Northampton Saints), Phil Dowson (Northampton Saints), Carl Fearns (Bath Rugby), Joe Gray (Harlequins), Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints), James Haskell (Highlanders), Tom Johnson (Exeter Chiefs), Graham Kitchener (Leicester Tigers), Joe Launchbury (London Wasps), Joe Marler (Harlequins), Lee Mears (Bath Rugby), Ben Morgan (Scarlets), Matt Mullan (Worcester Warriors), Tom Palmer (Stade Français), Geoff Parling (Leicester Tigers), Chris Robshaw (captain, Harlequins), George Robson (Harlequins), Matt Stevens (Saracens), Thomas Waldrom (Leicester Tigers), Tom Youngs (Leicester Tigers) Backs: Anthony Allen (Leicester Tigers), Chris Ashton (Northampton Saints), Brad Barritt (Saracens), Mike Brown (Harlequins), Danny Care (Harlequins), Lee Dickson (Northampton Saints), Owen Farrell (Saracens), Toby Flood (Leicester Tigers), Ben Foden (Northampton Saints), Alex Goode (Saracens), Charlie Hodgson (Saracens), Jonathan Joseph (London Irish), George Lowe (Harlequins), Ugo Monye (Harlequins), David Strettle (Saracens), Manu Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers), Jordan Turner-Hall (Harlequins), Christian Wade (London Wasps), Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers) On 2 June, new Springbok head coach Heyneke Meyer announced his squad of 32 players for the series.

[10] The Springboks named three uncapped players in the starting line-up: locks Eben Etzebeth and Juandré Kruger, and flanker Marcell Coetzee.

[10][17] England selected two uncapped players to make their debut in the starting line-up: flanker Tom Johnson and prop Joe Marler.

England looked composed enough, managing to repel a Springbok line-out from inside their 22 after they failed to handle Morné Steyn's kick-off.

But a box kick from Youngs carried too far and ended up in the hands of speedy wing Habana, who slipped several tackles before being finally brought down on halfway.

[23] Coetzee interfered illegally for the Springboks, and Farrell converted the subsequent penalty to regain the lead for England 6 – 3 at the 27-minute mark of the match.

A big chance for England went begging when Youngs found Ashton in midfield, who sidestepped Kirchner and took the ball up 30 metres only to spill it as he was brought down from behind by Hougaard.

[23] But South Africa struck the first blow when Morné Steyn dotted down in the right corner in the 47th minute after he had been involved in the attacking build-up that featured a storming run by Jannie du Plessis.

The Springboks finally broke through again when they so severely disrupted an England scrum that Youngs was forced to clear under pressure.

[23] From the resultant ruck, the Springboks quickly spread the ball wide for captain De Villiers to cut inside and touch down in the right corner, making the score 16 – 6.

Barely two minutes later, England captain Robshaw managed to isolate Pietersen in a ruck and win a penalty for his team.

[19][23] Both sides made changes: for England, Dickson came on for Youngs; for South Africa, Daniel replaced Coetzee.

The Springbok forwards timed their shove perfectly, causing England to buckle under pressure and thus earning a scrum feed.

Joseph was brought on for Brown and, despite the limited game time, was involved in the movement which led to the try that England needed when Foden scored in the corner.

[25] The previous occasion the two sides had met at Ellis Park was back in 1984 when the Springboks won 35 – 9 courtesy of a hat-trick to Danie Gerber.

Most of the changes occurred in the backline; Ben Foden replaced the injured Mike Brown at fullback, and Jonathan Joseph was given his first Test start after Brad Barritt was sidelined with a lacerated eyeball.