England captain Phil Vickery was quick to heap the praise on his players following their Rugby World Cup final defeat, admiring the courage they displayed in the 15-6 loss to South Africa at Stade de France.

"I can't fault anyone - the players, the supporters - we've had a magical time here," said Vickery.

"But fair play to South Africa - they were the better team and this is their victory.

"Now we have to wait for four years' time, so they'd better enjoy it.

"A big thank you to all our supporters. It has been a special time for all."

Mark Cueto was denied a near try by the video referee but Vickery refused to shift any of the blame onto the match officials.

"You get decisions like that in a game. Sometimes you get them, sometimes you don't. I'm not going to stand here and blame the referee. South Africa deserved their win."

One of the big positives to come out of the match was the performance of young Mathew Tait. The centre was England’s most dangerous player on the park but was left ruing what might have been following the final whistle.

"We're devastated at the moment," he said.

"The missed opportunity in the final hurts, but from a personal point of view, I'm just delighted to be part of it.

"We've had a tough three weeks and we have pulled together. It's just disappointing that we couldn't quite finish it off.

"Sport is about winning and we haven't got the ultimate prize. It's up to me and the younger guys in the future."

"Myself, Toby (Flood) and the other young guys must now work our arses off over the next four years to make sure it doesn't happen again.

"But overall, South Africa deserved this. Throughout the tournament they have been the better side. We thought we could do it, but we didn't, so we've got to take it on the chin. Certainly we came into the game thinking we could win it.