England head coach Steve Borthwick, speaking to BBC 5 Live: "How we responded to that first 10 minutes was very good, but ultimately we couldn't convert our opportunities.
"We gave a penalty away early in the second half, and once South Africa are in our 22, they are very dangerous. They have power.
"We had opportunities – if that pass goes to hand from Fin Smith to Seb Atkinson.
"The age profile of the two teams is very different. There were also personnel changes from the Six Nations.
"It is always important to get back to winning ways."
'There were times when we posed some really big questions'published at 19:07 BST
19:07 BST
FT: South Africa 45-21 England
England captain Jamie George, speaking to BBC 5 Live: "I am gutted. There were times when we posed some really big questions to the Springboks, and we showed some great character to come back after a poor first 15 minutes.
"We need to get out of the cycle of playing the game that the Springboks want to play.
"We knew what was coming and came out with a lot of passion and energy. Lessons to learn in terms of our discipline.
"Ultimately, it is about putting our game onto the field. We did that in parts."
In May, head coach Steve Borthwick was backed to turn around England's form after a Rugby Football Union review blamed a lack of discipline, accuracy and cutting edge, among other factors, for a dismal Six Nations campaign.
England's only victory was an opening-round rout of Wales, who would go on to finish bottom of the table.
Defeats in their other four games constituted England's worst performance since the tournament's expansion from the Five Nations in 2000.
"This has been a thorough and honest review, and it is clear that improvement will come from addressing several areas rather than chasing one simple answer," said RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney.
"This is a young England team that is still growing and developing, and we understand progress in international sport is rarely linear.
"Steve has engaged in this process with full openness and has clear plans in place to address these findings.
"We are all behind him and his coaching team going into the Nations Championship and the series of matches leading into Rugby World Cup 2027."
Given South Africa are world champions, would wins over Fiji and Argentina be enough to ease the pressure?
It is fourth successive victory for the Springboks over England.
England's Nations Championship campaign continues against Fiji at the Hill Dickinson Stadium in Liverpool on 11 July before heading back to the southern hemisphere to take on Argentina on 18 July.
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How long can Borthwick claim this is a team in development before he actually starts getting held to account? Yes, South Africa were good, but flattered by the incessant English ill-discipline. Not good enough. Again.
ME, Newcastle
Get. Borthwick. Out. I'm so FED UP of his lacklustre style of unpragmatic rugby… if he is in the hot seat for the World Cup, may as well not bother watching.
Paul Grayson Former England fly-half on BBC Radio 5 Live at Ellis Park
It's tough to put your finger on quite why England couldn't match South Africa physically because pound for pound going on the size of the packs and the weight of the players there's not much between them, but in terms of output the gap was massive.
England must beat Fiji next weekend because the storm clouds are gathering again.
'It was a great performance'published at 18:43 BST
18:43 BST
FT: South Africa 45-21 England
South Africa centre Damian de Allende, speaking to ITV: "It was a tough old Test match. We all knew England would come back, so it was a great response from us.
"We were very accurate at the beginning, but then ill-discipline crept in. We defended really well in patches.
Paul Grayson Former England fly-half on BBC Radio 5 Live at Ellis Park
The second half was hardly a contest. They never got a foothold in the game and because of that their attack was bits and pieces
South Africa smashed the door down, rarely played more than a couple of phases but squeezed the life out of England. They were uncomplicated and uncompromising.