It was England's third straight loss to a southern hemisphere power in a fortnight, after succumbing 24-22 to New Zealand and 42-37 to Australia, with some familiar faces administering the late crucial blows in an engrossing match on Saturday (Sunday AEDT) that was still in the balance after an hour.
Kolbe, one of the try-scorers in the Boks' World Cup final win over England in 2019, finished off a crossfield kick for his first try in the 22nd minute and went over for the clinching score in the 63rd following a piercing break by centre Damien de Allende.
Ollie Lawrence ponders England's fifth narrow loss in a row. (AP PHOTO)
South Africa pushed two scores ahead thanks to a conversion by replacement fly-half Handre Pollard, whose last-gasp penalty sealed the Boks' win over England in the World Cup semi-finals last year,.
The English couldn't then respond despite territory and playing against 14 men for the final 10 minutes.
Since repeating as world champions a year ago, the Springboks have now won 10 of 12 Tests and lost the other two by only a point each.
England, meanwhile, have lost six of their last seven Tests and have developed a concerning penchant for finishing tight games weakly.
It is leaving England coach Steve Borthwick under increasing pressure, especially if his team fails to beat Japan next week in their last outing of the year.
A frenetic first half featured five tries, two for England — through Ollie Sleightholme and Sam Underhill — and three for the Boks, via scrum-half Grant Williams' dazzling, darting run, flanker Pieter-Steph du Toit's chargedown and grounding, and Kolbe.
The second half was more tight and tense, with each team having a try ruled out and England taking a 20-19 lead through Marcus Smith's penalty in the 52nd.
But England lacked composure with a huge win in their sights and Pollard, on for Mannie Libbok, returned the favour with a trademark penalty from halfway to regain the lead for the Boks.
Kolbe took de Allende's pass and sprinted down the wing to score the try that broke English hearts, and Pollard naturally slotted the extras from the touchline.
Replacement prop Gerhard Steenekamp's 69th-minute sin-binning for repeated team infringements might have cost South Africa, but their defence stayed strong and England made errors and poor decisions.
The last time England lost three in a row at home was in 2006.
