Cape Town: Plucky Ireland produced a historic first-ever win in South Africa when they beat the Springboks 26-20 at Newlands yesterday despite playing an hour of the game down to 14 men.
Ireland had their flanker CJ Stander sent off after 20 minutes for a bad challenge that left Springbok fly half Pat Lambie spread-eagled on the field.
Despite the disadvantage, the tourists won the first of the three-test series with a gutsy showing.
They were assisted by an error-ridden performance from the home side, playing their first game under new coach Allister Coetzee and their first since third place last October at the Rugby World Cup in England.
Ireland scored tries through Jared Payne and Conor Murray while Lwazi Mvovo and Pieter-Steph du Toit went over for the Boks in front of 42,620 fans at the Cape Town venue.
South Africa looked like almost snatching victory after the final hooter but the Irish defence held firm to keep JP Pietersen from scoring in the corner.
It was what Ireland deserved after starting as underdogs but more than matching their hosts in all departments.