South African Scrum Powers Them To Victory

South Africa earned their first win away to Ireland since 2012 with a dominant scrummaging performance in a pulsating Quilter Nations Series clash at the Aviva Stadium.

Andy Farrell’s men showed immense character to stay within two scores and not buckle, and even went close to scoring in the final five minutes. It would have set up a thrilling finale, but eventually they succumbed to a 24-13 defeat.

The Springboks won six scrum penalties on the night, including one that resulted in a penalty try on the stroke of half-time.

The visitors led from Damian Willemse’s third-minute try onwards, with half-backs Cobus Reinach and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu also touching down, either side of that penalty try.

Hooker Malcolm Marx, at the heart of a hugely physical ‘Boks pack, was a deserving winner of the player-of-the-match award. The highpoint for Ireland was Dan Sheehan’s 36th-minute try from an inviting Jamison Gibson-Park pass.

It was a battling performance from Farrell’s side, who lost James Ryan to a 20-minute red card in the first half for a dangerous clearout.

A high penalty count against them also saw four players sin-binned – Sam Prendergast, Jack Crowley, Andrew Porter, and Paddy McCarthy, who had a lively impact off the bench.

The Match – As It Happened