SARugbymag.co.za revisits the last five clashes between the Springboks and Ireland in a rivalry that’s become one of rugby’s fiercest.
Ireland 38 Springboks 3
Aviva Stadium, Dublin, 2017
A record-breaking win for the Irish who ran in four tries to hand the Boks their biggest-ever defeat against the men from the Emerald Isle. Ireland legend Johnny Sexton bagged 14 points in a Man of the Match display.
Ireland 19 Springboks 16
Aviva Stadium, Dublin, 2022
Ireland held of a late charge by the Boks to underline their status as the No 1-ranked team in world rugby. In a tight game featuring two tries apiece, the Boks missed seven points off the kicking tee which proved crucial in the end.
Ireland 13 Springboks 8
Stade de France, Paris, 2023
A truly thunderous affair which lit the torch paper on the 2023 World Cup. The game was played before a crowd of over 78,000. It was epic. It was brutal. And it ended in a third consecutive win for the Irish over their southern hemisphere rivals. It was also Ireland’s 28th win out of their last 30 matches. But we all know what happened in the quarter-finals (again) and the Boks picked themselves up from a rare World Cup loss to go on and lift the Webb Ellis trophy for a record fourth time.
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Springboks 27 Ireland 20
Loftus Versveld, Pretoria, 2024
Part of an incoming two-Test tour, the Springboks managed to bag a first win against Ireland since 2016. Bok coach Rassie Erasmus admitted afterwards that it felt great to finally get the win as “they really had our number”. Still, it was a tight contest decided on a couple of marginal calls involving the TMO. The Boks showed early season rustiness against an Ireland team who a few months earlier had claimed another Six Nations crown but managed to hold out for an important victory.
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Springboks 24 Ireland 25
King’s Park, Durban, 2024
An absolute humdinger which was decided by a last-minute drop goal by Ciaran Frawley. The win saw the series spoils shared and was a fitting way to celebrate Ireland coach Andy Farrell’s 50th match in charge. A flawless Handre Pollard slotted eight penalties to peg back Ireland, but two late Frawley drop goals proved decisive. The first one on 70 minutes got Ireland to within two, and then the final crushing blow right on the hooter to give Ireland another win in the latest instalment of an epic rivalry.
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Photo: Brendan Moran/Gallo Images
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