South Africa were by far the better side in the end and England will be left wondering what might have been after an abject performance from Eddie Jones' men.
The English were the favourites going into the game but just didn't turn up and succumbed far too easily to South African pressure.
The player ratings fro both sides are below after South Africa became Rugby World Cup champions for a record-equaling third time.
England
15. Elliot Daly: 4
Made a few positional errors at fullback and didn't offer much in attack.
14. Anthony Watson: 5
Wasn't given enough time or space to hurt the Springboks.
13. Manu Tuilagi: 5
Made a few strong carries but ultimately made little impact.
12. Owen Farrell: 4
The captain just wasn't on his game and failed to rouse his team after a poor start.
11. Jonny May: 4
Like Watson just didn't have enough space to make a difference.
10. George Ford: 4
Was unable to get the backline firing on a dark day for his side.
9. Ben Youngs: 3
Will be disappointed with himself after being so good last weekend.
8. Billy Vunipola: 5
Carried hard but the South African pack dealt with him well.
7. Sam Underhill: 6
Tackled well and made a nuisance of himself in the rucks but it wasn't enough in the end.
6. Tom Curry: 6
England's best performer along with Underhill but that will do little to ease the young man's pain.
5. Courtney Lawes: 4
Was very quiet and was shipped off for Kruis at half-time.
4. Maro Itoje: 4
Looked tired after an unbelievable performance against New Zealand the previous week.
3. Kyle Sinckler: N/A
Went off injured after two minutes.
2. Jamie George: 4
The lineout was okay but the scrum was destroyed by the Springboks.
1. Mako Vunipola: 3
Again, could do nothing to stop the Springbok scrum.
Replacements: 3
They needed to turn the ship around but things only got worse as the game went on.
South Africa
15. Willie le Roux: 7
Did well in the air and did well in attack when called upon.
14. Cheslin Kolbe: 8
Didn't see much of the ball but was brilliant when scoring his try.
13. Lukhanyo Am: 8
An all-round good performance from the centre, who was instrumental in the first try.
12. Damien de Allende: 7
Carried strong and did well in defence.
11. Makazole Mapimpi: 8
Looked dangerous and did well to score his try.
10. Handre Pollard: 9
Almost perfect from the boot and marshalled his team excellently from 10.
9. Faf de Klerk: 8
Controlled the game excellently along with Pollard.
8. Duane Vermeulen: 8
As always an absolute nightmare for defenders.
7. Pieter-Steph du Toit: 8
Could well win the Player of the Year award after another great performance.
6. Siya Kolisi: 8
Played well and led his team excellently on rugby's biggest stage.
5. Lood de Jager: 7
Was playing well but came off injured early on.
4. Eben Etzebeth: 8
Was powerful all over the pitch as always.
3. Frans Malherbe: 8
Absolutely dominated England in the scrum.
2. Bongi Mbonambi: 7
Came off early on through injury but was doing well.
1. Tendai Mtawarira: 8
The English props will be having nightmares about him for years to come.
Replacements: 8
Kept the pressure on England before they finally broke their resistance late on.
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