England

7 Elliot Daly Kicked long too often in the first half but landed long-range penalty and then began to show his full array of skills. Maybe should have put May away though.

6 Jack Nowell Busy, as is always the case, but maybe not enough to keep hold of his place next week with Ashton now back on the scene.

6 Henry Slade Was due a big game at Twickenham, and that remains the case. Could have been so different with early grubber for May but in danger of becoming England’s nearly man.

7 Ben Te’o Quiet start, which should not be a surprise after just 28 minutes of rugby all season before this. Remains a handful though and produced one lovely offload.

7 Jonny May Couldn’t quite gather Slade’s early grubber and came off second best to Nkosi in first half but so much better thereafter. One trademark mazy run.

8 Owen Farrell Led team out and kept them in it with his two penalties. Kicking from hand in the second half was vastly improved and winning penalty was never in doubt. Lucky boy at the last.

6 Ben Youngs A bright-ish start but his box-kicking was often too long. Upped the tempo in the second half though.

5 Alec Hepburn A first England start but not his day. Outgunned at scrum time and no opportunity to show what he can do in the loose. Went off at half-time.

7 Dylan Harley Assumed the role of talking to the referee and made one rousing hit. Lineout throwing was more reliable than his opposite number too. All in all England benefited from his return.

6 Kyle Sinckler Grew into the game, even if Kitshoff got the better of him in the scrum. May come under pressure for his place from Williams though.

7 Maro Itoje Third penalty against in the first 15 minutes brought a yellow card but did stop a certain try. One big pump of the knees had Twickenham on its feet.

8 George Kruis Should take some credit for South Africa’s lineout misfiring so badly and was in the trenches throughout. Will take some shifting from the jersey now.

8 Brad Shields Up there with Wilson as England’s star performer. It was his first ever outing at Twickenham and he so nearly crowned it with a decisive try late on.

6 Tom Curry Big early tackle on Marx and played his part in keeping the deficit to just two in the first half. Hobbled off early in the second.

8 Mark Wilson Fully justified his selection as a makeshift No8 and gave everything to the cause. It was surprise to pick him there but it proved a masterstroke.

Jamie George (for Hartley 57) A couple of huge hits 7; Ben Moon (for Hepburn h-t) Solid 6; Harry Williams (for Sinckler 65) Big shove at key scrum late on 7; Charlie Ewels (for Shields 76); Zach Mercer (for Curry 42) Brought energy on debut 7; Danny Care (for Youngs 65) Match-saving tackle late on 7; George Ford (for Te’o 72); Chris Ashton (for Nowell 65).

South Africa

7 Damian Willemse Always keen to take the defence on, as he demonstrated with one mesmeric run in the second half. Showed naivety with costly late kick out on the full.

7 Sbu Nkosi Took his try well in tight space and put May under considerable pressure throughout. Smashed him over his own line too. One wobble after the break.

Sbu Nkosi scores South Africa’s only try. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Observer

5 Jesse Kriel Had to shift out to the wing but as was the case when at centre, he could not make any great gains until one late dart.

7 Damian de Allende Varied his running style â€” sometimes stepping, sometimes hard and straight but almost always made ground. Handling not perfect though.

6 Aphiwe Dyantyi Was largely restricted to chasing high kicks. He did so willingly but never really had the chance to gallop into space.

6 Handre Pollard More threatening than his opposite number with ball in hand. It was a long way out but he will lose plenty of sleep over the late kick that grazed the post.

7 Ivan van Zyl Not as eye-catching as Faf de Klerk but did little wrong, time and again sending his forwards up the middle.

6 Steven Kitshoff Was a super-sub over the summer against England but not as dynamic here but did get on top of Sinckler.

4 Malcolm Marx Had his lineout throwing been on the money South Africa might have been out of sight by half-time. Not the impact expected from a world player of the year nominee.

7 Frans Malherbe Got the better of Hepburn at the scrum and ensured Saracens’ Vincent Koch was not missed.

6 Eben Etzebeth Handling was not perfect but a constant nuisance at the maul until he went off through injury early in the second.

7 Pieter-Steph du Toit Is more mobile than Etzebeth but another whose handling was not up to scratch. Among South Africa’s better performers though.

6 Siya Kolisi As guilty as anyone for his side’s poor handling. South Africa kept on going for the corner in the first half and came away with nothing and the buck stops with the skipper.

7 Duane Vermeulen Not as much of an impact as in the summer until the closing stages when he started running at brick walls with an added ferocity.

5 Warren Whiteley Swift hands to tee up Nkosi for first try but was kept quiet for large spells of the contest.

Bongi Mbonambi (for Marx 74); Thomas du Toit (for Kitshoff 65) Won what looked like key penalty 6; Wilco Louw (for Malherbe 65); RG Snyman (for Etzebeth 42) Always a willing carrier 5; Lood de Jager (for Kolisi 65); Embrose Papier (for Van Zyl 75); Elton Jantjies (for Willemse 76) Fired one silky pass 6; Andre Esterhuizen (for Nkosi 60) Should he have won a late penalty? 5.