PLAYER RATINGS: Irish eyes are smiling
It was a triumph for desire over reputation.
The Irish – despite having CJ Stander red-carded in the 22ns minute and also saw Robbie Henshaw sin-binned for an equally inept cheap shot on a Springbok flyhalf – outsmarted the home team.
Jan de Koning rates the Irish players:
15 Jared Payne:
Was rock solid under the high bombs and dangerous on attack – often causing major problems for the Bok defence.
8/10
14 Andrew Trimble:
He was steady rather than spectacular, but can't be faulted for his effort. Few mistakes.
6/10
13 Robbie Henshaw:
Was lucky his cheap shot on Elton Jantjies was just yellow – should have been removed from the game like CJ Stander.
3/10
12 Luke Marshall:
Played a crucial role in the Irish backline defence and worked hard with ball in hand.
6/10
11 Keith Earls:
His kick-chase work was impressive and caused the Boks plenty of problems.
7/10
10 Paddy Jackson:
Caught the Bok defence napping on a couple of occasions and very creative in his play. There is life after Jonny Sexton.
8/10
9 Conor Murray:
Had a huge game and one of the key playmakers in the Irish backline – took a lot of pressure off Jackson.
9/10
8 Jamie Heaslip:
A tireless performance on defence and showed up his Bok counterpart in a big way.
7/10
7 Jordi Murphy:
Did all the hard work in the dark places where few dare to go.
7/10
6 CJ Stander:
He spoiled his first Test against South Africa with a ridiculous high jump and hip charge on Patrick Lambie that resulted in him being red carded midway through the first half.
0/10
5 Devin Toner:
Made life unpleasant for the Boks in the line-outs and also held up a few mauls. Put a serious dent in the reputation of the Bok locks.
9/10
4 Iain Henderson:
Was generally good – strong carries and solid defence. However, but was penalised a few times in the line-outs.
6/10
3 Mike Ross:
Rather quiet and struggled in the scrums.
5/10
2 Rory Best (captain):
His defence was solid and made some crucial turnovers.
7/10
1 Jack McGrath:
He may have been under pressure in the scrums, but his work on defence was invaluable to the Irish cause. Also a couple of decent charges with ball in hand.
6/10
Replacements:
16 Sean Cronin (on for Best, 68th min):
Not enough time to be rated.
17 Finlay Bealham:
Not used.
18 Tadhg Furlong (on for Ross, 59th min):
Made no impact whatsoever.
4/10
19 Ultan Dillane (on for Henderson, 69th min):
Not enough time to be rated.
20 Rhys Ruddock (on for Murphy, 74th min):
Not enough time to be rated.
21 Kieran Marmion:
Not used.
22 Ian Madigan:
Not used.
23 Craig Gilroy (on for Earls, 77th min).
Not enough time to be rated.
