The Springboks won six scrum penalties, including one that resulted in a penalty try, while Ireland had four players yellow carded and James Ryan red carded for 20 minutes in a bruising match.
Ireland showed immense character to stay within two scores and not buckle, and even went close to scoring in the final five minutes and set-up a thrilling finale, but eventually succumbed to a 24-13 defeat.
Unlike most nations, Ireland have a strong recent record against South Africa and have beaten them three times in the past three years. They started impressively here, with a couple of miss-passes and a Sam Prendergast miss-step in the first minute helping to whip up a raucous home crowd.
However, the Springboks struck first to puncture the mood inside three minutes. With a penalty advantage, Damian de Allende punched through the centre and that helped created an overlap to the left. They went through the hands and eventually Damian Willemse produced a brilliant superman finish to dot down.
Looking to respond immediately, Ireland made their way into the South Africa 22 and made space for Tommy O’Brien on the right touchline. In his bid to cover, Sascha Feinberg-Mngomezulu dashed across and appeared to deliver a high no-arms tackle, but after a lengthy TMO review only a penalty was awarded.
That only increased the atmosphere and Ireland continued to pile on the pressure but were unable to break through. Prendergast kicked a relatively simple penalty against the post, while Tadhg Beirne thought he scored a try after a powerful carry over the line, but the TMO spotted an illegal clear-out from Ryan. In a double-whammy, the try was ruled out and Ryan was sent to the sin-bin, which was later upgraded to a 20-minute red card.
In a breathless first half, Boan Venter looked to have scored South Africa’s second try after some powerful carrying wore down the Ireland defence, but it was also ruled out due to a forward pass. The Springboks then lay siege to the Ireland line, with a series of relentless scrums that continually resulted in penalties. Eventually the pressure told as Cobus Reinach darted through from close range in the 34th minute. To make it worse for Ireland, Prendergast was sin-binned for repeat team infringements to leave them with 13 men.
Despite that, they hit back just before half-time. From a lineout on the edge of the 22, Josh van der Flier made a break and, a couple of phases later, Dan Sheehan was put through a gap to score, with the conversion making it 12-7 to the world champions.
Remarkably, Ireland were soon down to 12 men as Jack Crowley, on as a HIA replacement for O’Brien, was sin-binned for cynical play in the ruck. Ryan returned seconds later to restore them to 13 but Andrew Porter then became the fourth Irishman to receive a card after a scrum penalty just two minutes later, to put them back down to 12. South Africa needed to translate the pressure into points and they eventually did, with a penalty try awarded from yet another scrum on the five-metre line, to put South Africa 19-7 up at the break.
Ireland were first on the board after the restart through a Prendergast penalty but South Africa hit the accelerator again. Their dominant scrum again delivered and, with another penalty advantage, Feinberg-Mngomezulu shrugged off a Jamison Gibson-Park tackle and sprinted clear to score.
The Springboks were desperate to put the game to bed but Ireland dug deep and won two turnovers on their own line to keep them at bay, and then scored the next points with another Prendergast penalty. Still, South Africa maintained the momentum and after another string of scrums and Irish infringements, Paddy McCarthy became the fourth to receive a yellow card.
But the visitors were unable to make it count, with Ireland showing immense resilience to keep South Africa out, including two last-gasp scrambles from Crowley. Ireland, 11 points down, then flipped field position and threw the kitchen sink at South Africa inside the 22. Grant Williams was yellow carded but the Springboks somehow kept Ireland out on their own line to see out a 23-12 win.
⭐️ Quilter Player of the Match:
Malcolm Marx (SA)
On the win: "As you can tell from the way I look, it was bruising. It is always hard against Ireland, they're a quality side and we knew it would go to the end. We needed to show character and we did it. It was a tough game but we are really proud of the win."
On South Africa's scrum: "We had some success with it but in the second half, we weren't as successful as we would have liked to be. But we will take it."
On Ireland: "The character they showed was immense, having 12 players and keeping us out. It was incredible, they have a great bond as a team. Big congrats to them for their performance."