Saints trio Ben Foden, Dylan Hartley and Lee Dickson were unable to prevent England suffering defeat in the second Test against South Africa on Saturday.
The Springboks sealed a series win with a fine 36-27 victory in Johannesburg, despite a spirited comeback from Stuart Lancaster’s men.
Foden and Hartley started the clash, with Dickson on the bench - and the scrum-half might have been glad he was not introduced until late on for the Red Rose, who endured a torrid first half.
The game could hardly have started worse for England as the Springboks raced into a 12-0 lead inside the opening eight minutes.
England saw little of the ball in the opening three minutes while South Africa looked incisive in attack, constantly crossing the gainline.
Willem Alberts made one good break before Bryan Habana found space on the left. Ben Morgan thwarted him but England made a costly error from the resulting scrum as the ball was allowed to run all the way through.
Alberts saw the loose ball roll out and as no England player left the scrum, the Springboks flanker gleefully gathered and darted over.
The problems increased just moments later as South Africa powered forward again and forced England to defend their own line.
It proved beyond them as hooker Bismarck du Plessis barged his way through several attempted tackles and spun to crash over under the posts.
Morne Steyn extended the advantage with his first conversion but England at least got a foothold in the game with a Flood penalty.
But it was a rare foray into the Springbok half and the hosts replied with a Steyn penalty before powering forward again for Francois Hougaard to force his way through. Steyn pushed the score out to 22-3.
England made the most of another rare opening to claim their first try midway through the first half.
Ben Youngs took a quick tap penalty and released Chris Ashton, who sent Flood clear to score despite a last-ditch tackle from Habana.
Flood converted his own try but it did not look like the start of a comeback as the Springboks continued to push them back.
When Steyn found himself range he duly added another three points with a well-taken drop goal.
It could have got even worse for England as JP Pietersen failed to take a pass from Jean de Villiers with the try line at his mercy.
Frans Steyn was allowed the chance to line up a penalty from inside his own half in the final minute of the half but his effort slipped narrowly wide.
South Africa looked to apply more pressure as they declined a kickable penalty early in the second half and looked for touch.
Powerful charges from Alberts and Eben Etzebeth looked certain to yield another try but England somehow held out.
But they did not escape without damage as captain Chris Robshaw was penalised and Morne Steyn added another three points.
England not only earned some respite but a huge slice of luck in the 52nd minute as an overthrown Springbok lineout found its way into Youngs’ hands.
The scrum-half broke for the line and despite being caught high by a tackle, and a lengthy period of video deliberation, managed to get the ball down.
Flood’s conversion brought the score to a more respectable 28-17 but Morne Steyn then helped himself to another penalty goal.
Despite everything that had gone before England, almost inconceivably, suddenly got themselves back within a converted try of South Africa just after the hour.
The hosts switched off at the breakdown after a drive by substitute Alex Corbisiero and Youngs pinched the ball to dive through a gap for his second try.
Flood added the extras and chipped further away at the lead with another penalty from just inside the Springboks’ half.
England breathed a sigh of relief after conceding another penalty and Morne Steyn hit the upright.
England started to look like they believed they could win but South Africa found another gear when they needed it.
After a useful spell of possession they neatly worked the ball along the line and Pietersen flamboyantly dived over for the decisive try seven minutes from time.