Allister Coetzee era begins on a disappointing note after party poopers Ireland beat the Boks

The Allister Coetzee era started on a foul note as Ireland secured their first ever victory in South Africa with a courageous effort despite playing with 14 men for nearly an hour.

Ireland flyhalf Paddy Jackson’s unerring boot that yielded 13 points‚ including two crucial second half penalties and a first half drop-goal goal‚ was the difference in a match where the Boks looked confused on attack.

Ireland’s defence was brilliant but the Boks lacked cutting edge on attack and paid the price for squandering several gilt-edged opportunities.

The series is now well set up with matches in Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth to come.

The most damning statistic was that the Boks were outscored 13-7 in the second half despite their numerical superiority after Ireland flank CJ Stander was red-carded in the 23rd minute.

Ill-discipline marred the first half with both sides guilty of conceding penalties freely. The Boks had infringed six times in the first 10 minutes and saw lock Lood de Jager sin-binned after he pulled down a maul.

But the worst offenders were Ireland. Stander received a 23rd minute red card for a sickening late charge on Bok flyhalf Pat Lambie that saw the vice-captain left motionless on the turf.

Stander’s hip smashed Lambie’s face. French referee Mathieu Raynal made the call to red card the SA-born Ireland flank after reviewing the video and there could be no complaints.

Of course‚ it had a huge bearing on the shape of the match with Ireland using wing Andrew Trimble as a flank for scrums. It was no surprise the Bok pack dominated from that moment although Ireland showed huge character to stay in the match despite the handicap.

Nine minutes after Stander was ordered off‚ Ireland centre Robbie Henshaw was yellow-carded when he hit replacement flyhalf Elton Jantjies high and late with a shoulder.

To add insult to injury‚ Jantjies still managed to make a deft inside pass to wing Lwazi Mvovo‚ who scorched the earth on his way to the tryline‚ which took the Boks into the lead for the first time in the match.

But Ireland are nothing if not resilient. They held wave after wave of Springbok attacks at bay late in the first half through a combination of organisation‚ courage and some brainless attacking by the Boks.

Several times the Boks had overlaps and all they needed to do was straighten and move the ball through several hands and each time they somehow drifted wide so that the field became constricted and Ireland held on.

Jackson slotted a drop-goal three minutes from halftime to level the scores again and keep his teammates’ spirits high.

And those spirits rose even further when scrumhalf Conor Murray scored an unlikely try soon after the break as the Springboks’ defence fell apart.

Ireland‚ buoyed by the score‚ dominated the second half and snuffed out numerous Bok attacks with excellent defence and commitment.

Jackson kept twisting the knife with two more penalties and even though Bok replacement lock Pieter-Steph du Toit scored an intercept try after a poor Jackson pass‚ Ireland never buckled.

South Africa 20 (13) Ireland 26 (13)

Scorers:

Springboks – Tries: Lwazi Mvovo‚ Pieter-Steph du Toit. Conversions: Elton Jantjies (2). Penalties: Pat Lambie‚ Jantjies.

Ireland – Tries: Jared Payne‚ Conor Murray. Conversions: Paddy Jackson (2). Penalties: Jackson (2). Drop-Goal: Jackson. — Tiso Black Star Group Digital