Fourteen-man Ireland make history
It was not the start new Springbok coach Allister Coetzee would have wanted, as his team looked out of sorts for most of the game.
In fact Ireland were tactically far more astute than the Springboks – especially after they were reduced to 14 men and even when down to 13 men for 10 minutes.
Patrick Lambie was sent to hospital for observation, after being knocked out from a cheap shot by CJ Stander in the 22nd minute, while Robbie Henshaw also spent 10 minutes in the bin after a similar late and high tackle on replacement flyhalf Elton Jantjies.
However, Ireland dug deep and maintained their cool to outplay the Boks.
The teams meet again next Saturday in Johannesburg and in Port Elizabeth on June 25.
"It took an unbelievable effort with 14 men to achieve victory," said Ireland hooker and skipper Rory Best.
"We had to dig really deep and a lot of very tired Irish boys trooped off the pitch at the end. Our plan when a man short was to own the ball.
"Credit to our halfbacks [flyhalf Paddy Jackson and scrumhalf Conor Murray] for running the game and our bench made a huge impact."
An obviously disappointed Springbok captain, Adriaan Strauss, said: "We had chances to score more points, but made too many unforced errors and gave away too many penalties."
Only eight Springboks who started in the World Cup third-place play-off victory over Argentina last October began their first Test this season.
Those missing included retired centre Jean de Villiers and lock Victor Matfield and winger Bryan Habana, who is set to play in the Rio Olympics sevens.
The preference of Coetzee for locals meant no call-ups for hooker Bismarck du Plessis and prop Jannie, his elder brother, who play in France.
Lambie was right and wide with an early long-range penalty attempt before Ireland took the lead on 11 minutes.
A clever kick behind the defence by centre Luke Marshall allowed fullback Jared Payne to race in and dot down.
De Jager was yellow-carded for foul play during the build-up to the score.
Jackson, deputising for injured star Johnny Sexton, converted and slotted a penalty to give the Irish a 10-3 advantage.
Ireland were reduced to 14 men when a spiteful high, late tackle by South Africa-born Stander floored Lambie and he was sent off.
Elton Jantjies, who replaced concussed Lambie, kicked a simple penalty, then his brilliant inside pass sent left wing Lwazi Mvovo over to score.
Henshaw made a late, high tackle on Jantjies during the build-up to the score and was sin-binned.
Despite being two men short, the visitors equalised three minutes before half-time with a Jackson drop-goal making it 13-13 at half-time.
Three minutes into the second half, Ireland regained the lead when Murray dotted down after a good Payne off-lead. Jackson converted.
As the game entered the final quarter, a hushed stadium signified the frustration of Springbok fans as the team struggled to make a numerical advantage pay.
A Jackson penalty stretched the lead to 10 points before his pass was intercepted by lock Pieter-Steph du Toit, who darted over and Jantjies converted.
But another Jackson penalty closed the scoring and a late Springboks attempt to grab an undeserved win ended with winger JP Pietersen bundled into touch.
Man of the match: Francois de Klerk had a lively debut, Jon-Paul Pietersen showed his old verve and looked good when carrying the ball. Tendai Mtawarira was back also to his best. Jared Payne was a constant threat with ball in hand, Paddy Jackson showed there is life after Jonathan Sexton and Conor Murray was the key playmaker. However, our award goes to Ireland lock Devin Toner – who was a tower of strength in the line-outs, a rock on defence and won some crucial turnovers.
Moments of the match: The red card issued to CJ Stander in the 22nd minute, for his dangerous high jump that resulted in Patrick Lambie being stretchered off and the yellow card to Robbie Henshaw for a similar incident 10 minutes later.
Villains: This is easy – CJ Stander and Robbie Henshaw for their ridiculous cheap shots on the Springbok flyhalves.
The scorers:
For South Africa:
Tries: Mvovo, Du Toit
Cons: Jantjies 2
Pens: Lambie, Jantjies
For Ireland:
Tries: Payne, Murray
Cons: Jackson 2
Pens: Jackson 3
DG: Jackson
Yellow cards: Lodewyk de Jager (South Africa, 11 – repeated infringements, collapsing the maul), Robbie Henshaw (Ireland, 31 – foul play, late and high tackle)
Red card: CJ Stander (Ireland, 22 – foul play, jumping into an opponent's head)
Teams
South Africa: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Jon-Paul Pietersen, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Pat Lambie, 9 Francois de Klerk, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Siyamthanda Kolisi, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Lodewyk de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Adriaan Strauss (captain), 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Mbongeni Mbonambi, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Julian Redelinghuys, 19 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 20 Warren Whiteley, 21 Rudy Paige, 22 Elton Jantjies, 23 Jesse Kriel.
Ireland: 15 Jared Payne, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Luke Marshall, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Jordi Murphy, 6 CJ Stander, 5 Devin Toner, 4 Iain Henderson, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best (captain), 1 Jack McGrath.
Replacements: 16 Sean Cronin, 17 Finlay Bealham, 18 Tadhg Furlong, 19 Ultan Dillane, 20 Rhys Ruddock, 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Craig Gilroy.
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant referees: Angus Gardner (Australia), Matthew Carley (England)
TMO: Jim Yuille (Scotland)
AFP & rugby365
