The Irish struggled to handle the Springboks’ physicality and a green mist descended in which they conceded a 20-minute red card, four yellow cards and an equally uncharacteristic 18 penalties. For a time, Ireland was down to 12 men.
The Springboks turned the pressure into four tries, one of them a penalty try. They hadn’t won in Dublin since 2012 and ended up with their biggest win there over Ireland since 1998. They have three straight wins on their European tour with only lowly Wales to visit.
The penalty try, awarded against Ireland’s backpedalling scrum in first-half injury time, lifted the Springboks to a 19-7 lead as a train of Irish players were brandished with yellow cards by referee Matthew Carley.
Carley’s halftime whistle prompted loud booing from the packed crowd in Aviva Stadium.
But short-handed Ireland was all heart after the interval, outscoring South Africa 6-5.
South Africa got a moment of solo brilliance by Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu but Jesse Kriel was held up over the line and Canan Moodie knocked-on in goal under pressure.
The Irish were unable to break the Springboks’ defense in the second half, even after besieging their try-line for the last five minutes. They finally got a man advantage in the 78th when replacement Boks scrumhalf Grant Williams was yellow-carded but the visitors held out.
The buildup spotlighted red cards the Springboks have overcome to beat France and Italy in their previous two tests. Their tackle technique came into sharp focus again in the sixth minute in Dublin after Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s shoulder-led hit on Tommy O’Brien. But Carley issued only a penalty, saying the tackle slid up O’Brien’s chest to his head.
By then, the Springboks had already teed up a try for Damian Willemse, who shushed the crowd.
Prendergast’s first goalkick hit the post then Ireland suffered a double blow: Tadhg Beirne’s try was ruled out and fellow lock James Ryan was yellow-carded for an illegal clearout into the face of Malcolm Marx. The bunker upgraded it into a 20-minute red, the first of Ryan’s career.
O’Brien’s following high tackle and head contact on Moodie passed inspection but Prendergast was next to be yellow-carded when Ireland was suckered by Cheslin Kolbe and allowed Cobus Reinach to score a converted try untouched.
Despite being two men down, Ireland rallied with a Dan Sheehan try.
Jack Crowley, covering for Prendergast, converted the try but made an ironic sight when he was carded, too, and joined flyhalf rival Prendergast in the sin-bin.
An attacking scrum opportunity prompted Boks coach Rassie Erasmus to change out his props, and the fresh muscle was overpowering. Irish prop Andrew Porter was carded for illegal scrummaging. When the next scrum went backwards and collapsed, Carley gave South Africa a penalty try and defied convention by not carding anyone.
But the crowd’s boos rained on him.
Prendergast returned to kick two penalties but South Africa moved beyond reach when Feinberg-Mngomezulu used scrum ball to stiff-arm Jamison Gibson-Park and score.
Ireland fought on but the scrum gave away six penalties, a third of their total, and instigated the yellow card — the team’s fourth — for replacement prop Paddy McCarthy.
They still managed at the end to back South Africa onto its try-line, where RG Snyman, on the occasion of his 50th test, had a yellow card overturned but fellow replacement Grant Williams was not so fortunate.
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