Boks hold on for dour win

South Africa withheld a late fightback from Ireland to win the first international at the Aviva Stadium 23-21.

The Springboks held much of the possession throughout a dour match but were still only ahead courtesy of Juan Smith's first-half try after an hour's play.

But the Irish finally caught fire and scores from Tommy Bowe and Rob Kearney, both courtesy of kind bounces, gave the tourists a late scare.

Replacement fly-half Ronan O'Gara had the chance to level the scores from wide on the right but watched in frustration as his conversion attempt came back off the upright.

It was a quiet start in front of a half-full arena at the re-vamped Lansdowne Road but after 10 minutes Ireland almost profited when O'Driscoll chased down Cian Healy's fly-hack, but full-back Gio Aplon did a good job of clearing the danger.

Signs of rust were evident as Irish passes failed to stick and it was poor handling that enabled South Africa to extend their lead.

Intercept

An Irish line-out saw Eoin Reddan attempt an ill-advised pass meant for Luke Fitzgerald but the lurking Smith intercepted before completing the 65-metre race to the line, riding a tackle from Kearney as he crossed the whitewash.

It had been a poor opening 20 minutes from Ireland but they got off the mark when Jonathan Sexton landed a penalty, the fly-half having missed a very kickable chance moments earlier.

Worryingly for the green shirts, South Africa had established a comfortable lead without playing particularly well.

Ireland were still struggling to secure any possession, though at least their defence was holding up.

A promising and rare attacking move ended when Bowe gave Fitzgerald a forward pass, summing up a disappointing first half.

The rain began to fall more heavily, resulting in both sides dropping passes, and the half finished with Steyn and Sexton exchanging penalties.

Steyn missed his first shot at goal in 42 attempts just after the interval before number eight Jamie Heaslip finally generated some momentum for Ireland with a bulldozing run, but South Africa secured the turnover.

Steyn proved his missed penalty was just an aberration as he slotted a third, but once again Sexton replied in kind in a cagey third quarter.

Ireland saw a line-out throw stolen by Matfield but the ball ultimately fell to Stephen Ferris only for the Ulster back row to knock-on when offered a glimpse of the line.

Scissors

Surprisingly Steyn was replaced by debutant substitute Patrick Lambie, whose first act was to miss an easy penalty with a nervous hook from in front.

South Africa soon forgot the blunder, however, when Zane Kirchner performed a scissors with Aplon who cut inside Kearney and touch down under the posts with Lambie converting.

But the advantage only lasted four minutes as O'Gara's crossfield kick was grabbed by winger Bowe - with the help of a kind bounce that wrong footed Aplon - to run in a try that rekindled Irish hopes.

O'Gara converted and a second try looked certain when Heaslip broke free down the left wing, but he ignored his support runners for too long.

The pressure continued, however, and a long pass from O'Gara fell to Kearney who raced in at the right corner with six minutes on the clock.

O'Gara's conversion attempt looked good but it clipped the right-hand post and the Springboks' defence held up to give them a winning start to their campaign.