Scotland were the victims of another highly controversial refereeing verdict as their quest to claim a first Test triumph in South Africa was cruelly wrecked as they slumped to a 29-15 defeat.
They went into the final quarter of the Port Elizabeth encounter still in the hunt for glory with the only try to their names.
But then English referee Tony Spreadbury took a decisive hand in the contest - leaving the Scots with no escape route in Port Elizabeth.
Chris Paterson had dashed clear on the interception to bag what looked like a crucial second score.
But Scotland's glee turned to gloom when Spreadbury ruled that winger Simon Webster had committed a knock-on almost a minute earlier close to his own line.
The ref had not only stretched the use of the advantage rule to its extreme - it also seemed as if Webster had fingertipped the ball backwards in the first place.
So, instead of awarding Scotland a try, the Boks were given a scrum five metres out - and seconds later, Fourie du Preez wriggled over for a home touchdown.
Although Percy Montgomery's conversion was wide, it was a possible turnover of 12 points at a crucial stage of the game.
The flashpoint came seven days after Scots coach Frank Hadden had insisted that two of South Africa's tries in the Durban Test should not have stood. And heated discussion is sure to rage after the latest bombshell.
In the wake of the early mugging last weekend, Hadden had stressed the importance of a strong start.
But it was the home troops who raced out of the traps again to rattle up six points before five minutes had been played.
They broke the deadlock in just 60 seconds when recalled number eight Jonny Petrie and skipper Jason White were lured offside while under heavy pressure at a ruck.
Montgomery confidently slotted the 35-metre penalty - and quickly doubled his tally to take his aggregate big-stage career tally past the 600-mark.
This time Scotland wandered over the gain-line after they had surrendered possession at their first line-out throw.
Hadden's brigade shook off their jitters to hit back with a superbly-worked touchdown in the 12th minute.
They held their patience to put together an impressive series of phases and with the Springboks defence flat, Gordon Ross sent through a perfectly-weighted grubber kick for Webster to pounce in the corner.
Paterson struck his angled conversion well enough, but it drifted wide of the near post.
It took rattled South Africa just three minutes to reclaim the momentum, Montgomery completing his penalty treble from 46 metres when Gavin Kerr failed to backtrack quickly enough following Ross' midfield chip.
Ross was back in the spotlight midway through the half when he was guilty of illegally handling the ball on the ground.
Long-range specialist Jaco van der Westhuizen took over the boot duties - and thumped it over from 55 metres to open up a seven-point gap.
Scotland were then pinned back inside their own danger zone for a prolonged period until Ally Hogg relieved the tension with a speculative hack downfield.
There was high drama seconds before the break when Webster appeared to snatch another chip and chase try - but TV evidence showed he had marginally knocked on in the process.
Scotland carried on after the restart where they had left off by launching a sequence of promising raids.
But a combination of robust Springboks marking and a lack of penetration prevented them turning pressure into precious points.
Having weathered the storm, South Africa bounced back to increase their advantage through dead-eye Montgomery when Petrie was isolated in retreat.
Scotland kept their hopes alive when Paterson banged over a 40 metre penalty in the wake of a crunching challenge by White on Schalk Burger.
Paterson then embarked on a mazy run which took him past five Springboks, but he was unable to find Andy Henderson with the outside pass.
The penalty ping-pong duel between the marksmen continued as Montgomery slotted his own fifth and number six for South Africa.
Then came the fateful moments for the Scots - and although Paterson goaled a sniping score for substitute flanker Donnie Macfadyen, the damage was too severe to repair.
Montgomery took his penalty tally to seven in the dying minutes to make sure of the Springboks' less than convincing victory.
