Ireland vs. South Africa: All the biggest moments, talking points and player ratings

Hugo Keenan - 7 Lovely carry nearly led to a try, after 15 minutes. Didn’t have it all his own way in the aerial battles. Mack Hansen - 7 Brave aerial take under big pressure. Stayed wide and patient for his try. Garry Ringrose - 6 Lovely footwork and awareness to set up a great attack up the left flank. Caught on the hop when de Klerk’s penalty struck the post. Was in the wars - shot up on a few attacks to cause chaos. Bundee Aki - 8.5 Turned over by Kolbe on a carry into the Bok 22. Made an electric line break that had the Boks in all sorts of trouble. Was superb when he got the legs pumping. Penalised inside his 22, after 48 minutes. James Lowe - 8 Caught out by an awkward bounce and was left with a flailing tackle. Made a crucial first half poach for a turnover. Made another turnover, off du Toit, under the Irish posts. Won another turnover when he LIFTED Etzebeth in the tackle. Johnny Sexton - 7 Took some crunching hits and received treatment but stayed on to take more punishment. Brave in defence. Lasted 72 minutes and will need that week off! Jamison Gibson-Park - 7 Showed real fight in a scrappy, wild night at the breakdown. Missed four of his six tackles attempted. Andrew Porter - 8 Gave away an early scrum penalty. Got his own back on Malherbe to win a big penalty in front of the posts. Played 75 minutes! Rónan Kelleher - 5 Walloping statement hit on Willemse to set the tone. Lineout was wobbling, early on. Overthrew THREE in the first 12 minutes. Jumpers not getting up an issue but this is on him, too. Tadhg Furlong - 6 Pinged for early engagement at one scrum. In one hell of a battle. Tadhg Beirne - 7 Won a turnover but let the ball slip, soon after. Was apologising again, in the second half, when Smith turned him over on a carry. Pinged for breaking his bind at a maul. Great clearing kick upfield in the closing stages. James Ryan - 6 The early line out wobbles would be partly on his shoulders, as he made the calls, too. Got isolated on a second half carry and was turned over. Peter O'Mahony - 7 Penalised at the breakdown when Ireland were under the pump. Got up well to force a bit lineout wobble in the Bok 22. Josh van der Flier - 7 Put in a huge shift against the Bok forwards and was up there with Doris atop the tackle count. Conceded one penalty for being offside. Great tackles on Willemse and Kriel in the final 10. Caelan Doris - 8 Got in a passing line to secure a turnover from Kriel near his tryline. Made some good front-foot carries and was a tackling demon. REPLACEMENTS Dan Sheehan (for Kelleher ’54) - 6 Iain Henderson (for Ryan ’54) - 6 Told Crowley to go for that late penalty. Robbie Henshaw (for Ringrose ’62) - 7 Ryan Baird (for O’Mahony ’62) - 6 Finlay Bealham (for Furlong ’62) - 6 Conor Murray (for JGP ’65) - 7 Made a breakdown poach after he came on. Another big tackle of du Toit. Jack Crowley (for Sexton ’71) - 7 Had a late DG blocked but Ireland ended up with a 5-m scrum. Dave Kilcoyne (for Porter ’75) - N/A