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England men · Test matches · First Test

England
v South Africa⁠

23–21

Full time

England v South Africa finished 23–21.

South Africa
Butch James 36', Akona Ndungane 43'
Date
Saturday 18 November 2006 · England in 2006
Venue
Twickenham, London
Competition
Test matches · First Test

Last checked 21 October 2026

Team sheets

Line-ups

England

Starting XV

Replacements

  • No. 16, Lee Mears On in the 62'
  • No. 17, Phil Vickery On in the 48'
  • No. 18, Chris Jones On in the 62'
  • No. 19, Lewis Moody On in the 62'
  • No. 20, Shaun Perry On in the 68'
  • No. 21, Andy Goode On in the 38'
  • No. 22, Toby Flood (not used)

South Africa

Starting XV

  • No. 1, CJ Van Der Linde Prop Off in the 68'
  • No. 2, John Smit (c) Hooker
  • No. 3, BJ Botha Prop
  • No. 4, Johan Ackermann Lock Off in the 76'
  • No. 5, Johan Muller Lock
  • No. 6, Pierre Spies Flanker
  • No. 7, Danie Rossouw Flanker
  • No. 8, Jacques Cronje Number 8 Off in the 41'
  • No. 9, Ricky Januarie Scrum Half Off in the 74'
  • No. 10, Butch James Fly Half Off in the 62'
  • No. 11, Bryan Habana Wing
  • No. 12, Jean De Villiers Centre Yellow card 47' Off in the 37'
  • No. 13, Wynand Olivier Centre
  • No. 14, Akona Ndungane Wing
  • No. 15, Frans Steyn Full Back

Replacements

  • No. 16, Chiliboy Ralepelle (not used)
  • No. 17, Deon Carstens On in the 23' Off in the 33'
  • No. 18, Albert van den Berg On in the 76'
  • No. 19, Hilton Lobberts On in the 41'
  • No. 20, Ruan Pienaar On in the 74'
  • No. 21, Andre Pretorius On in the 37' Off in the 41'
  • No. 22, Bevin Fortuin (not used)

Referee: Steve Walsh. A replacement who came on is shown with the minute.

Men's senior internationals · Newest first

The 5 meetings before this one

2000 – 2004

03 23 Nov 2002
Test matches · Test Match Twickenham, London

England 53–3 South Africa England won

England tries: Ben Cohen 20', Will Greenwood 30', Will Greenwood 42', Penalty try 61', Neil Back 69', Richard Hill 74', Lawrence Dallaglio 93'

South Africa tries: None

Match page: England v South Africa, 23 November 2002

Official meetings since 1906

England v South Africa stats

Full head-to-head

Meetings48In our results database
England wins16England perspective
Draws2Level at full time
South Africa wins30South Africa victories

England have scored 825 points to South Africa's 1062 across these meetings.

Individual fixture records

Who has scored most?

England · Fixture leader

4

Jonny May

4 tries against South Africa in matches we hold scorer data for.

South Africa · Fixture leader

6

Bryan Habana

South Africa's leading scorer against England in matches we hold scorer data for.

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