Jamie George's post-match spin after England's five-Test losing run continued at Ellis Park centred on one thing: the character his side showed after being 17-0 down inside 12 minutes. He was genuinely impressed by the fightback that got England back to within three at half-time, and believes the Springboks themselves felt the pressure during that 10-to-40-minute window. His argument is that England's ability to escape the Boks' contestable kicking game and move the ball in that period is the blueprint — the problem is they couldn't sustain it. Discipline killed them: yellow cards for Freeman and Pepper ended any realistic hope of a comeback once they'd closed to within 10. George's broader point is that fine margins separated a competitive performance from a 24-point loss, and that a young squad learning how to handle Springbok conditions and game-management is a net positive. Whether Borthwick's camp genuinely believes that or is managing a dressing room in damage-control mode is the more interesting question the piece leaves hanging.