South Africa maintain southern hemisphere's dominance with win over England

South Africa gave a winning start to new coach Heyneke Meyer with a 22-17 victory over England in the first test in Durban on Saturday.

The Springboks turned in a dominant second-half performance with flyhalf Morne Steyn and new captain Jean De Villiers crossing for tries after Steyn and his opposite Owen Farrell had traded penalties to send the teams into the break locked at 6-6.

South Africa took control of the match after the resumption and, while winger Ben Foden scored a consolation try for England with time up on the clock, the final result was never in doubt.

The victory was South Africa's eighth successive over England and gave the hosts a 1-0 lead in the three-test series.

The second test is scheduled for Johannesburg next weekend.