The Springbok women's team suffered a defeat against the strong and determined Irish team with a score of 40:27 at Athlone Stadium in Cape Town on Saturday.
Ireland scored first in the eighth minute when Aoife Dalton broke through from close range, and Dana O'Brien converted, giving the visitors an early lead of 7:0.
The Springbok women responded in the twenty-first minute thanks to the individual skill of Asese Hele, who used a clever 'show-and-go' move to break through the defense and score in the left corner. However, Jackie Sellier failed to convert the attempt, and Ireland maintained a slight advantage of 7:5.
The game momentarily changed when Erin King from Ireland received a yellow card in the twenty-third minute after a TMO review for arm raising before the scrum.
The South Africans immediately capitalized on the numerical advantage: lock Wynah Ubisi stretched his arm in the twenty-eighth minute to force the ball across the goal line from close range, and Sellier added points, increasing the hosts' lead to 12:7.
Boks expanded their lead shortly before halftime, in the thirty-eighth minute. When the planned rolling maul stalled, the hosts quickly passed the ball to the short side, allowing winger Maria Tsirembe to score effectively in the left corner.
Nevertheless, Ireland delivered a decisive psychological blow right at the half-time whistle. By opting not to attempt a try, they preferred to attack precisely and patiently build phases through the forwards, which allowed winger Jane Klohessy to break through under pressure. O'Brien's conversion led to the visitors going into the break with a lead of 21:17.
The second half started poorly for the hosts. Just a minute after the restart, Ireland exploited space on the wing, and winger Baybin Parsons scored an early try.
Ireland continued to apply pressure, and after a failed Springbok shot on the goal line, where a Byron Dolfe chip attempt was safely intercepted, the visitors launched a prolonged multi-phase attack, culminating in Erin King's attempt in the fifty-third minute. Although O'Brien could not convert the conversion, Ireland maintained a confident lead of 33:17.
Drama occurred at the hour mark when Aiobhan Riley kicked the ball after a coordinated play with Brittany Hogan and King. Despite O'Brien scoring additional points, the TMO intervened and detected a push during the build-up of the attack, saving South Africa.
Boks got a chance when Anna McGann from Ireland received a yellow card in the sixty-sixth minute for cynical time-wasting near her line. The substitution of forward Lerato Makua immediately broke through from close range, and Sellier added points, reducing the deficit to 33:24.
All hope for a late Boks comeback was dashed in the seventy-third minute. After a penalty kick awarded inside the 22-meter zone to South Africa for a tactical infringement, prop Linda Jugang broke through the tight defense, scoring her second try of the day, which O'Brien easily converted.
The hosts fought until the end, scoring a consolation try in the seventy-ninth minute when Alichia Arris brilliantly caught a cross-field kick on the bounce and scored in the right corner. Sellier failed to convert the difficult conversion, leaving the final score at 40:27 in favor of the visitors.
