South Africa’s savagery no match for England skills

England 53 South Africa 3

England will meet South Africa again in a crunch World Cup clash next October and the whole sport is already on red alert.

Given what is at stake the winners can anticipate a probable quarter-final against Wales, with the losers tackling New Zealand then there is fresh powder-keg potential.

England's dressing room resembled a casualty unit as the dust settled on another record-breaking afternoon.

Jonny Wilkinson left the ground with his left arm in a sling, Neil Back's face was horribly bruised, Lewis Moody had a shoulder injury, Jason Robinson could hardly walk, while Springboks coach Rudi Straeuli claimed two concussion victims and one dislocated shoulder as the human cost of a humiliating defeat.

Somehow, amid the mayhem, England collected seven tries, completed a clean sweep of rugby's Tri-Nations heavyweights in just 15 days, and inflicted an all-time heaviest Test defeat on the shocking Springboks.

They also regained top spot in the Zurich world rankings, and will enter World Cup year just above New Zealand, with Australia third, France fourth and South Africa fifth.