Rugby: Brilliance ends losing streak and eases heat on Jones

England's Jonny May scores a try during the third rugby test match between South Africa and England at Newlands in Cape Town, South Africa. Photo / AP

Eddie Jones hailed Danny Cipriani's killer instinct as the five-eighths marked his first test start for 10 years with a moment of brilliance to set up the decisive try for Jonny May as England finished their tour of South Africa with a 25-10 victory over the Springboks in Cape Town.

Cipriani had largely been a peripheral figure in the contest until his crossfield kick out of a tackle landed perfectly to allow May to score England's only try of the match as Jones' side brought their five-test losing streak to an end to ease the pressure on the head coach.

"I said before the game we might not have many opportunities and that he [Cipriani] would possibly be good enough to take the opportunity and he did," said Jones.

"There was one opportunity for us to score a try. It was a beautifully-weighted kick and we scored. So I'm sure he'll be on the front page of The Sun."

Owen Farrell kicked six penalties and a conversion in a 20-point haul as England vastly improved their discipline and defence after defeats in Johannesburg and Bloemfontein.

"Discipline is a matter of trusting your teammates and trusting the system, not trying to solve everything by yourself," Jones said.

"The team had been over-eager to play well. They probably felt the pressure of the scoreboard and felt the pressure of losing some games.

"We really just focused on each play as it comes - playing that play well.

"We just handled the big moments better. If you look back at the last two tests, in both tests, we put ourselves in a position to win, but when the pressure or the scoreboard has changed, we haven't handled those situations well.

"[In the third test], we kept our composure, just focused on the next play. There was great leadership by the players out there.

"We'd like to play South Africa next week because we're coming to a peak now, so we're trying to arrange a game at Twickenham for next week."

England 25
South Africa 10