try: Arendse, Kolbe, penalty try Disadvantage: Pollard 2 pen: Pollard 2
try: Osborne, Murray, Baird Disadvantage: Crowley pen: Crowley
South Africa cemented their status as the strongest team in the competition with a win over Ireland in Pretoria.
In a test match between the top two teams in the world rankings, the world champions won by defeating Ireland for the first time in eight years.
Kurt Lee Arendse scored a try just three minutes into the match and the Springboks continued to play wide throughout the match to take the lead.
Ireland new recruit Jamie Osborne replied with a goal before half-time and the match finished with a flurry of four tries in the final 15 minutes.
It was only the sixth time in their last seven meetings that the two teams had been separated by one point, and South Africa deserved to win after leading for almost the entire match.
Ireland will share the series in Durban next week and will be aiming to record a second victory on South African soil.
New manager makes early impression on Boks
For their first home Test since winning the World Cup at the Stade de France nine months ago, Rachid Erasmus was able to name the 12 players who started in the final against the All Blacks in Paris, with three others coming off the bench.
Having fielded a less familiar line-up when they beat Wales last month, they are indeed returning to the core of the squad that won their fourth Webb Ellis Trophy last autumn.
In fact, it could be argued that the changes in coaching have been bigger for South Africa than on the field.
Former Japan assistant coach Tony Brown has been appointed the team’s attack coach, while Ireland’s 2009 Grand Slam winner Gerry Flannery will be in charge of defence.
Brown’s footprints were all over the opening try, with the Springboks moving the ball from side to side before Siya Kolisi’s pass unleashed Kurt Lee Arendse in space.
The Bulls winger, playing on his home soil in Pretoria, got inside Jamie Osborne and scored a sharp team try after just three minutes.
An error from No.8 Kwagga Smith on the restart gave Ireland an immediate opportunity to test Flannery’s defence, but the home side forced a knock-on after several physical interventions from former Munster centre Damian de Allende.
Ireland’s absentees have been a big presence in an opening game riddled with mistakes
Ireland were without Jamison Gibson-Park, Hugo Keenan, Mac Hansen, Jack Conan and Ian Henderson for various reasons.
In their absence, Farrell made two bold selections, installing normal centre Jamie Osborne at fullback alongside Keenan and opting for Craig Casey at number nine rather than the more experienced Conor Murray. Osborne was predictably tested in the air early on and was otherwise composed in his first cap, although he did fumble Cheslin Colby’s clearance into touch.
In fact, the Six Nations winners made too many errors across the board in the first 30 minutes, with a poor tee shot from Handre Pollard giving the visitors a 13-3 lead.
Having been made to work hard to get even a yard forward, they got back into the match with a fine try from debutant Osborn.
Hooker Dan Sheehan produced a brilliantly inventive offload that James Rowe had to use both strength and agility to get to before it was smashed onto the touchline, but Osborn held on to the ball well to finish.
Farrell’s side would have liked to have scored more in the first 40 minutes but, despite some mistakes, they were just five points behind at the start of the second half and remained that way for the first 25 minutes of the second half.
A close match with Lowe becomes decisive
Ireland would have emphasised the need to tidy up at half-time but were soon on the back foot after a foul on Bundee Aki at the breakdown, and the Connacht centre’s self-correction after the whistle was telling.
With 30 minutes remaining, Rachie Erasmus called on his proverbial “bomb squad” from the bench, but their first involvement earned Ireland a scrum penalty.
Ireland’s advantage remained narrow, but it was still the Boks who were exerting most of the pressure, with timely interventions from the likes of Keiran Doris and Josh van der Vliere helping to close the gap on Ireland.
That defensive effort felt momentarily even more crucial when Lowe rounded Pollard for a try after Aki disrupted a ruck and the ball was spilled.
However, the TMO noticed substitute hooker Ronan Kelleher playing the ball on his knee and correctly intervened to cancel the score.
Pollard missed a penalty for a third mistake off the tee, leaving the lead at five points.
However, South Africa remained favourites to win, scoring a vital goal with 15 minutes to go.
Unfortunately for the Irish side, it came from a Springbok error, with Pollard going off touch as Law put the ball back infield after the forwards had won a scrum penalty.
But things turned in Cheslin Kolbe’s favour as he surged forward, collected the ball and scored the first goal of the second half.
South Africa finished the game with 14 men after Arendse was sent off, but Ireland’s Conor Murray dropped the ball on the goal line and slotted it into the goal five minutes from time to put Farrell’s side within one point.
At the end of a hectic game, South Africa hit back quickly after a Lowe mistake on the restart, with the home team scoring a penalty try from a five-metre scrum.
There was some time before play resumed, but substitute forward Ryan Baird crossed in a corner with the clock ticking to the end and Ireland came close to converting a try, but a knock-on while trying to equalise from deep in their own half ended the game.
South Africa: W le Roux; C Kolbe J Kriel, D de Allende KL Arendse; H Pollard, F de Klerk; O Nche, B Mbonambi, F Malherbe; E Etzebeth, F Mostert; S Kolisi (captain), PS du Toit, K Smith.
ReplacementIn: M Marx, G Steenekamp, V Koch, S Moerat, RG Snyman, M van Staden, G Williams, S Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
Ireland: J Osborne, C Nash, R Henshaw, B Aki, J Rowe, J Crawley, C Casey, A Porter, D Sheehan, T Furlong, T Byrne, J McCarthy, P O’Mahony (captain), J van der Flier, C Doris.
replacement: R Kelleher, C Healy, F Bealham, J Ryan, R Baird, C Murray, C Florey, G Ringrose.
Judge: Luke Pearce (England)