Flyhalf André Pretorius's sublime second-half performance lifted the Springboks to a 25-14 win over England at Twickenham in 2006, with South Africa having not lost to the English since then.
Shell SA, iconic to South Africans since 1902, celebrates iconic Springbok moments against England and warms our hearts with memories of great days at Twickenham.
Pretorius, on 25 November 2006, turned in a commanding display with four drop goals as the Springboks beat their hosts to claim their first away win of the year.
The victory was also the Springboks' first win against England in eight matches and their first at Twickenham since 1997. The Boks bounced back from the previous weekend's 23-21 defeat at the London ground in what was the second of four matches between the two countries before they would meet at the following year's World Cup.
Flyhalf Pretorius, recalled in place of the injured Butch James after a lacklustre display as a replacement the weekend before, kicked 20 points – four drop goals, two penalties and a conversion of CJ van der Linde's try.
Victory eased the pressure on under-fire Bok coach Jake White and turned up the heat on his England counterpart Andy Robinson.
South Africa, 14-3 down with 10 minutes to go in the first half, battled back to lead 16-14 at the break.
Two Pretorius penalties had reduced England's lead to 14-9. Jean de Villiers almost scored a try before, on the stroke of half-time, Van der Linde crossed.
Pretorius's long cut-out pass to the left was well caught by prop Van der Linde who crashed through England fullback Josh Lewsey for his first Test try. Pretorius converted and South Africa were ahead.
Early in the second half, flank Juan Smith took a fine catch at a lineout from which No 8 Danie Rossouw drove forward. The ball was fed back to Pretorius and his 30m drop goal extended the Springboks' lead to 19-14.
Now it was an inexperienced Springbok side that looked increasingly edgy as England squandered a couple of chances, even dropping the ball over the tryline before, with five minutes to go, Pretorius's third drop goal took the Boks a crucial two scores ahead at 22-14 before he put the icing on a cake with a fourth just before the final whistle.
*Did you know: Shell has symbolised hope and a better quality of life from 1902 when its focus was on paraffin and kerosene to bring light and heat to communities in South Africa.
Photo: Duif du Toit/ Gallo Images
