"Men vs boys" - Ben Youngs calls out England players against Springboks

The Springboks stormed into a 17-point lead inside the opening 11 minutes and never looked seriously threatened, extending England's miserable recent record against the world champions.

It also marked a fifth straight defeat for Steve Borthwick's side, who struggled to match South Africa's physicality, accuracy and cohesion throughout the contest.

Speaking on the For The Love of Rugby podcast, England's record appearance holder Youngs admitted he was shocked by the gulf between the two teams.

"Yesterday, it felt like men vs boys. It really did," Youngs said.

While praising South Africa as "the best team in the world", Youngs felt the biggest concern was not the result itself but the widening gap between the sides.

"The bit that alarms me is the gap between England and South Africa hasn't got smaller, it has got bigger and it got exposed yesterday."

Youngs felt the Springboks barely needed to reach top gear after their explosive opening, saying they "just did what they needed to do" before comfortably responding whenever England threatened to build momentum.

"As soon as the Boks needed changing one gear up, England couldn't live with them at all in terms of gain line, physicality, skill level, the actual cohesion."

The former scrum half was particularly surprised by England's forward display, insisting the personnel are good enough to compete at a much higher level.

"I look at the pack and I think that's a damn good pack. Yet they looked like boys compared to South Africa."

Youngs also highlighted the contrast between the two backlines, pointing to South Africa's settled combinations and game management.

"There is a big gulf between the backlines. They're cohesive, the centre partnership is amazing, I thought that the halfbacks controlled it really well."

Looking ahead, Youngs questioned how England can bridge the divide, arguing they must become far sharper tactically if they are to challenge the world's best.

"The only way you close that gap is by being tactically really sound, defensively very good, execute a gameplan and do your best to make the game a close contest. England also fell short tactically."

Cole agreed that England's problems extended beyond strategy, believing the basics let them down.

"Ultimately, you can say it's tactical, but the execution of a skill, the Boks were far superior to England, in terms of the aerial contest and on the floor."