Despite a near-miraculous Irish fightback while reduced to 12 players at one stage, South Africa held on for a 24-13 win in Dublin — their first victory at the Aviva Stadium since 2012.
The Springboks struck early through Damian Willemse’s try after quick hands put him away down the left. The game then descended into controversy as referee Matt Carley issued a series of cards that left Ireland severely depleted. Ireland lock James Ryan was shown a 20-minute red card for a clearout to Malcolm Marx’s face, and Sam Prendergast, Jack Crowley and Andrew Porter were all sin-binned in the first half for offside, a cynical act and successive scrum penalties respectively. Replacement loosehead Paddy McCarthy was later sin-binned in the second half for further scrum offences.
Cobus Reinach crossed for South Africa’s second try after a run of scrum penalties put enormous pressure on the hosts. A penalty try was awarded at the end of the half following a dominant five-metre scrum drive, leaving the visitors 19-7 ahead at the break amid loud boos from the Aviva crowd.
Remarkably, Ireland kept competing despite being reduced to 13 and then 12 men. Dan Sheehan scored for the hosts from a rolling maul while Ireland were down on numbers, and Sam Prendergast added a long-range penalty early in the second half to narrow the gap. But South Africa’s Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu finished a period of pressure with a try to make it 24-7, and although he missed the conversion the Boks maintained control.
Prendergast kicked a second penalty to bring Ireland within 11 points, and a late period of pressure produced a chance with three minutes left on penalty advantage. Prendergast’s pass went to Tom Farrell instead of Jack Crowley, and the opportunity to pull within four points went begging. Grant Williams was sin-binned for South Africa late on after conceding a series of penalties, but there was insufficient time for Ireland to score the two tries they needed.
Scoring summary
– Ireland: Try — Dan Sheehan (37). Con — Jack Crowley (38). Pens — Sam Prendergast (44, 56).
– South Africa: Tries — Damian Willemse (4), Cobus Reinach (34), Penalty try (40+5), Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (46). Conversion — Feinberg-Mngomezulu (35).
The match featured moments of ill-discipline and contentious officiating. Ryan’s yellow was upgraded to a 20-minute red after a review; Crowley was sin-binned following a TMO decision that adjudged him to have caused a fumble while off his feet; and Porter was shown a sin-bin that reduced Ireland to 12 before the penalty try was awarded. Referee Carley’s handling of the contest drew significant criticism from the home crowd and bench.
Ireland head coach Andy Farrell praised his players’ resolve. “If you can’t learn from that (game), you’re in the wrong place,” Farrell said. “I thought going down to 12 men, how the lads came out and showed the bottle for their country… was absolutely amazing. I’m unbelievably proud.” When asked about whether Feinberg-Mngomezulu should have been yellow-carded for a shoulder charge on Tommy O’Brien, Farrell acknowledged the question but said he would “let you be the judge of that.”
What’s next
Ireland have completed their Autumn Nations Series: they lost to New Zealand in Chicago, beat Japan and Australia in Dublin, and now fell to South Africa. Andy Farrell’s side begin their 2026 Six Nations campaign at France on Thursday, February 5 at the Stade de France. South Africa finish their autumn Tests against Wales at the Principality Stadium on Saturday, November 29 (3.10pm kick-off).