World Champions the Springboks have beaten Ireland for the first time since 2016 with a hard fought 27-20 victory at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria.
With the world’s two top ranked teams battling it out, the encounter was not going to be anything short of a blockbuster.
It’s all over at Loftus in front of more than 50,000 fans, the Boks have beaten Ireland for the first time since 2016 🙌#ForeverGreenForeverGold #Springboks #RSAvIRE pic.twitter.com/nX7wb6IuLJ
— Springboks (@Springboks) July 6, 2024
The Springboks got onto the scoreboard first with a converted Kurt-Lee Arendse try in the third minute.
The Irish got a penalty shortly after to reduce the gap to four points.
The more the 50 000 strong crowd had a lot to cheer, with the Boks going into the break 13-8 in front.
Eventually the World Champions scored two tries and a penalty try to Ireland’s three tries.
Although flyhalf Handre Pollard missed three kicks at goal, he was successful with two conversions and two penalties that mattered in the end. It was the Springboks’ first victory over Ireland in eight years, breaking a run of three successive defeats, including one at last year’s World Cup in France.
