It was a night to forget for England as they suffered their fifth consecutive Test defeat at the hands of world champions South Africa. The 45-21 thrashing at Ellis Park served as a harsh reminder that discipline is still an area where this young squad needs to sharpen up - and fast.
The writing was on the wall from the 71st minute when Tommy Freeman's reckless tackle earned him a yellow card, followed just a minute later by Guy Pepper's late challenge that saw him also sin-binned. Suddenly, England were down to 13 men, and South Africa made the most of it, scoring two more tries through Malcolm Marx and BJ Dixon to seal a comprehensive victory.
Discipline has been a major concern for this team all season, with a staggering 10 yellow cards and one red card collected in just six matches. And yet again, England's inability to keep their cool on the pitch came back to haunt them, much like it did when they were thrashed by France at the Six Nations.
Captain Jamie George was left to pick up the pieces, but even he couldn't hide from the fact that his team had let themselves down. "We've got to be better than this," he said afterwards, acknowledging the positives from a few patches of pressure on the Springboks. But when you're down by 24 points at one stage, it's hard to cling onto those glimmers of hope.
Coach Steve Borthwick tried his best to defend his players, saying that Freeman's yellow card was just a "slight timing error" rather than any malicious intent, and Pepper's challenge was simply down to the pressure exerted by South Africa. But when you're up against one of the top teams in the world, you can't afford to make excuses - you've got to be better.
Things weren't helped by the absence of full-back George Furbank, who's been ruled out for the rest of the July tour after undergoing surgery for appendicitis. He'll miss the upcoming fixtures against Fiji in Liverpool, and it's back to the drawing board for this young squad.
But George was keen to stress that England will regroup and come out fighting - "We've got to be better than this," he repeated, determined to put things right on the pitch. Now, all eyes are on their next fixture against Fiji in Liverpool - can they deliver a performance to lift the spirits of their fans?