Player Ratings: Soldier on
A determined effort by Ireland saw them out-muscle the Springboks to claim a convincing and deserved victory.
A massive defensive effort from the home side saw them claim a 29-15 win after holding a slender 6-3 lead at the halftime break.
The home had to grind hard for the first hour but after absorbing everything the Springboks threw at them, they pulled away from their lackluster opponents.
Tauriq Ebrahim rates the Ireland players!
15 Rob Kearney:
Solid and calm under the high ball. Tore the Springbok defence apart with some nifty footwork.
8/10
14 Tommy Bowe:
Caused plenty of headaches when chasing down high kicks and his efforts were rewarded with a late try.
8/10
13 Jared Payne:
Attempted to break through the defensive lines with the handful of runs he made.
5/10
12 Robbie Henshaw:
Always looked to want the ball and did the hard work on defence as well.
7/10
11 Simon Zebo:
A quiet game with not much ball and attacking opportunity.
4/10
10 Jonathan Sexton:
Deadly accurate with his kicking at goal and always looked to release his outside backs on attack.
8/10
9 Conor Murray:
A busy effort from the scrumhalf but made a few errors.
5/10
8 Jamie Heaslip:
Another player who put in a huge defence effort.
6/10
7 Rhys Ruddock:
Was a late replacement into the starting XV and gave a good account of himself. Rewarded with his first international try.
6/10
6 Peter O'Mahony:
Put in a massive defensive effort and had some strong ball carries.
7/10
5 Paul O'Connell (captain):
Led from the front with a high tackle count and bled for the cause.
6/10
4 Devin Toner:
Went largely un-noticed during open play but won all of his line-outs.
5/10
3 Mike Ross:
Got dominated in the scrum but put in a good effort defensively.
5/10
2 Sean Cronin:
Nothing special and was substituted early.
4/10
1 Jack McGrath:
Put in a huge defensive effort by making the most tackles.
6/10
Replacements:
16 Richardt Strauss (on for Sean Cronin, 57th min):
Did more in his short time than Cronin.
6/10
17 Dave Kilcoyne (on for Mike Ross, 73rd min):
Not enough time to be rated.
18 Rodney Ah You (on for Jack McGrath, 73rd min):
Not enough time to be rated.
19 Mike McCarthy (on for Devin Toner, 73rd min):
Not enough time to be rated.
20 Tommy O'Donnel: (on for Peter O'Mahony, 71st min)
Not enough time to be rated.
21 Eoin Reddan (on for Jared Payne, 78th min):
Not enough time to be rated.
22 Ian Madigan (on for Jonathan Sexton, 73rd min):
Not enough time to be rated.
23 Felix Jones (on for Rob Kearney, 73rd min):
Not enough time to be rated.
