South Africa vs Ireland: Key Moments
- 2021
In a thrilling test match enocunter between back-to-back World Cup winners South Africa, and Six Nations winners Ireland lived up the the hype in a physical encounter with moments of magic from both teams.
Here is how it unfolded:
Kurt Lee Arendse opening try 3’
After a box kick from Casey that was claimed by Willie Le Roux the Boks show their attacking intent and spread the ball wide with Pieter-Steph du Toit offloading inside.
Faf de Klerk plays Bongi Mbonambi who pulls it out the back and South Africa go wide again with quick hands from Siya Kolisi to release Kurt-Lee Arendse who steps past Osborne to score his 14th test try.
South Africa 7-0 Ireland
Kwagga Smith Second Error 11’
Kwagga Smith makes a second error in 11 minutes knocking the ball on after the goal line dropout with Kurt-Lee Arendse tripping over Smith while counter rucking to compound the error turning it into Irelands penalty. Jack Crowly gets Ireland on the board
South Africa 7-3 Ireland
Bongi Mbonambi penalised at the breakdown 31'
Bongi Mbonambi gets penalised at the breakdown and Jack Crowley fails to kick over three points in a relatively easy kick.
Dan Sheehan brilliance sets up a try 34’
Shortly after Crowly misses the three for poles, Ireland get a penalty and opt for touch. The Springboks displayed strong defence in slowing down the Irish attack for multiple phases.
However, Ireland's patience pay off and they play the ball wide to Sheehan with Lowe looping around and he offloads infield to Osborne to score in the corner.
South Africa 13-8 Ireland
Pollard shaky off the tee 39’
South Africa's talisman off the tee misses a rare kick after Ireland concede a soft penalty close to the halfway line.
Half time: South Africa 13-8 Ireland
Pollard penalty kick miss 42’
Siya Kolisi makes another strong carry dominating the gain line, De Allende joins the tackle fight driving and the ball gets stripped in contact but falls back to Kolisi who attempts to place the ball. Porter gets penalised after counter rucking and his foot getting in the way of the scrum half being able to make a pass. Pollard misses his second kick of the night.
Bomb Squad enters the field 49’
South Africa put on 5 forwards in the 49th minute with Marx returning from a long term injury before bringing the last of the bomb squad on with Koch replacing Malherbe a few phases later.
James Lowe disallowed try 58’
Ireland seemed to score against the run of play however TMO spotted an infringement at the breakdown leading up to the try. South Africa gets a penalty and Pollard misses his third consecutive kick.
South Africa 13-8 Ireland
James Lowe's error gifts Kolbe a try 65'
South Africa win a scrum penalty and Pollard misses touch, Lowe does incredibly well to keep the ball in play but it bounces perfectly for Kolbe who kicks it through, gathers andd scores to get rewarded for an excellent kick chase.
Pollard adds to the two extra.
South Africa 20-8 Ireland
Conor Murray hands Ireland a lifeline with a late score 74'
Ireland scores minutes later, Kelleher puts Bealham into a gap with an inside ball before passing to Murray who scores under the posts.
South Africa 20-15 Ireland
Lowe makes a massive mistake after kickoff resulting in a try 76'
Lowe attempted to catch the restart which appeared to be going dead and knocks the ball on in the process behind Ireland's try line. South Africa get a scrum 5m out and the bomb squad show their worth with a powerful scrum resulting in a penalty try and Kelleher yellow card.
South Africa 27-15 Ireland
Ireland not going down without a fight 78'
Lowe collects a chip kick, steps Kolbe and makes an offloads to Ryan Baird who scores in the corner for the third try in 5 minutes. Crowley misses the kick at goal as the ball falls off the Tee in the build up.
South Africa 27-20 Ireland
South Africa keep Ireland deep in their half before forcing a knock on after a dominant hit in defence to secure the first victory of the two match Test Series.
Full Time: South Africa 27-20 Ireland
