England coach Brian Ashton said he genuinely thought his team were in with a shout at the interval.
"We were hopeful we could win it," said Ashton, who also picked up the stomach bug that has afflicted the team.
"If we'd got more ball to attack more often I think we may have been able to create a few problems," he said.
Any hopes though of a shock win for the tourists were quickly erased as Bakkies Botha and Spies — who broke through four tackles on his way to the line — scored excellent tries to push the home side into a 29-22 lead, with the visitors' only points coming from a Wilkinson penalty.
Bryan Habana then scored an intercept try which was followed by a Montgomery touchdown and a second for Habana — another long-range effort — to put the 'Boks into a commanding position. Spies then crossed late in the game to give the 'Boks a 55-22 victory.
"We were hopeful we could win it at half-time, but South Africa showed they are good at capitalizing on mistakes and every half chance they got they used," England's captain Wilkinson said.
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