Ireland captain Peter O’Mahony rued costly errors but remained upbeat following a 27-20 defeat to world champions South Africa in a gripping series opener in Pretoria.
The Springboks underlined their status as Test rugby’s top-ranked nation thanks to scores from Kurt-Lee Arendse and Cheslin Kolbe, plus a late penalty try and 10 points from fly-half Handre Pollard.
Ireland replacements Conor Murray and Ryan Baird crossed in a breathless finale to add to Jamie Osborne’s debut try.
What a moment for our debutant! 🙌#TeamOfUs pic.twitter.com/y3Xa4Pa5oa
— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) July 6, 2024
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But the tourists paid a heavy price for a disjointed first-half display as attention turns to next weekend’s second – and final – Test in Durban.
“(It was) a tough battle. We knew it was going to be very, very difficult here with the quality of South Africa,” O’Mahony told Sky Sports.
“There are a lot of positives to take out of our performance but little bits here and there, playing against a side as good as this – they are going to punish you.
“We’ll go away and have a look and we’ll fix a few things and look forward to next week.”
The Six Nations champions were seeking a fourth-consecutive victory over South Africa following a captivating pool-stage win at last year’s World Cup in France.
The Springboks recovered from that 13-8 Paris defeat to retain the Webb Ellis Cup, while forthright comments emanating from their camp since have further stoked a growing rivalry between Test rugby’s two leading sides.
Following Arendse’s third-minute opener, Ireland wing James Lowe produced a magnificent offload to set up international newcomer Osborne but Pollard’s boot helped ensure Rassie Erasmus’ men led 13-8 at the break.
Lowe had a second-half score disallowed on review due to an adjudged infringement by Ronan Kelleher before inadvertently gifting Kolbe an unchallenged run to the try line.
Arendse and Kelleher were each sin-binned in a frantic climax during which the Springboks claimed a decisive penalty try between Murray – who came on following a head injury suffered by Craig Casey – and Baird going over.
South Africa head coach Erasmus is also targeting improvement following his nation’s first success over Ireland since 2016.
Match report: The #Springboks held their nerve to beat Ireland, with enough to work on before next weekend's second Test - more here: https://t.co/XhGNBWgt8m 👍#ForeverGreenForeverGold #RSAvIRE pic.twitter.com/PkvcmV10Qr
— Springboks (@Springboks) July 6, 2024
“Overall, the goal was achieved but it was far from a perfect performance,” he said.
“Ireland are a team we’ve had zero success against since (we took over as a coaching staff in) 2018 and they’ve really had our number.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a monkey off our back but it’s a really good competitive opponent, who are number two in the world, and any day they can step up and beat you and be number one.”
