England's Marcus Smith landed a last-minute penalty to snatch a 27-26 win over South Africa on Saturday. The hosts looked full of early promise but were hauled back by the battling Springboks in the teams' first meeting since the 2019 World Cup final.
England produced a strong first-half performance at Twickenham but the Springbok juggernaut was never going away and they slowly hauled themselves back into the game to take a 26-24 lead with just minutes remaining.
England, though, mustered one final attack and earned a penalty on the 22 that Smith smashed over.
Here we look at how the England players fared as they ended the Autumn Nations Series unbeaten following earlier wins over Tonga and Australia.
Freddie Steward: 8/10
Another performance that suggests he was born for Test rugby as he totally defused South Africa's kicking game.
Joe Marchant: 7
A real athlete in the air and rose to the occasion magnificently when slotting in at 13 for Manu Tuilagi. Made a scintillating break.
Henry Slade: 8
Playing the best rugby of his England career and is now a creative hub in the midfield. Devastating with his distribution.
Manu Tuilagi: 7
A frustrating afternoon for the big centre who showed pace to score a try but then limped off injured.
Jonny May: 6
Not one of May's best performances for England but even when making mistakes his head never dropped and he kept trying.
Marcus Smith: 8
Stepped up when his team needed him to kick the winning penalty. Marshalled operations well but there was little space in the Bok defence.
Ben Youngs: 6
A threat with the ball in hand as proved by teeing up Steward, but his kicking was sub-par. Raffi Quirke offered more pace when he came on.
Bevan Rodd: 6
Manful second cap for a 21-year-old who was up against the South African front row.
Jamie Blamire: 7
Another of England's rookies who refused to take a backward step in by far the biggest challenge of his young career.
Kyle Sinckler: 6
The elder statesman of the front row gave away penalties a little too easily.
Maro Itoje: 7
Produced another example of his extraordinary ability to rip the ball out of an opponent's hands, kept on going and rallied the troops against South Africa's second-half revival.
Jonny Hill: 8
Like his Exeter team-mate Slade, Hill has come alive in an England jersey. Now a real physical presence.
Courtney Lawes: 8
If Owen Farrell's ankle injury forces him to miss the start of the Six Nations, England have their replacement captain.
Sam Underhill: 7
Took on the South African back row head on. Carried hard and tackled with no fear for his own safety.
Tom Curry: 7
Such a forceful presence in England's pack and was at the heart of all the forward exchanges. Got his hands dirty on the floor.
Replacements - 7
Quirke came on to finish a dazzling try and Max Malins also made an impact as a replacement for Manu Tuilagi.