A late try by prop Phil Vickery gave England a 23-21 victory over South Africa as the world champions avoided a record eighth successive defeat.

England were up against it all afternoon with tries from Butch James late in the first half and Akona Ndungane early in the second giving the tourists a 21-13 lead.

Although still ragged and error-prone, the hosts hauled their way back with a Mark Cueto try and, after finally showing some forward authority, ended the pain eight minutes from time when Andy Goode converted Vickery's short-range score.

The win ensured the current England team would not be labelled as officially the worst in their 135-year history and set up an intriguing return when the teams meet again next Saturday.

However, when the emotion clears, there will be precious little for coach Andy Robinson to smile about as the victory came after another performance full of basic errors, confused tactics and appalling kicking.

South Africa, with up to a dozen leading players left at home, were much improved from last week's thumping in Dublin but still fell to a sixth successive away defeat and a seventh successive loss to England.

"There are a few smiles in the dressing room and that's been a while," England fullback and man-of-the-match Josh Lewsey told Sky Sports.

"The boys have had a lot of stick this week and they showed a lot of character and it was great to come off with the crowd cheering rather than booing."

After the back-to-back November games, the teams meet again twice next May and June in South Africa, before facing off for the second successive tournament in the pool stage of the World Cup.

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