Historic First For Ireland

A 14-man Ireland recorded a famour tour win on Saturday afternoon in Cape Town with a 26-20 victory over South Africa and a first ever win against the Springboks on South African soil.

It was an afternoon of mixed emotions when CJ Stander's chance to line out against his native country ended in bitter disappointment after the Munster man picked up a first red card of his career after attempting to block down a Pat Lambie kick in the 23rd minute.

Ireland's task became all that more difficult when Robbie Henshaw was yellow carded approaching half-time, however, when reduced to 13-men a scrambling defensive effort and a well timed Paddy Jackson dropgoal had the sides level, 13-13, at half-time.

The visitors made the ideal start to the second half, with the excellent Conor Murray using his speed and strength to cross the whitewash within three minutes.

Jared Payne, making his first international start at full-back, was a key man in the lead up to the try, timing his run to perfection, and with Jackson adding the extras and a further penalty after 67 minutes, incredibly a 14-man Ireland held a 10-point advantage.  

Just when it looked like Ireland were stretching clear, Jackson's pass from the restart was intercepted by South African replacement Pieter-Steph du Toit for a real sucker-punch score which brought the home fans back to life. Jantjies added the extras to reduce the arrears to three.

However, Ireland were not going to go into their shells. 

Turnovers were killing the Springboks' momentum and one from the tireless Murray came at a vital stage. The hosts' discipline was also lacking as a second ruck penalty conceded by prop Frans Malherbe allowed Jackson to make it 26-20 with a terrific strike from the 10-metre line.

In a testing and tense final three minutes, the 'Boks showed improved width, but again Ireland's stubborn defence got the better of them. Henshaw and Payne, along with the fast-arriving Jackson, managed to bundle JP Pietersen into touch to deny the winger a last-minute try and kickstart joyous celebrations for Ireland.