You should really be following the U20s at the minute, there’s only five minutes to go in their clash against New Zealand.

Well, it’s all over in Manchester and the senior men have to follow an incredibly intense effort from the Wolfpuppies, beating New Zealand for the first time at that age grade and leaving only Georgia standing between them and top spot in the pool.

Alright then, the U20s have definitely done their best to upstage the senior men today, but Cape Town is still the central focus of our rugby coverage today, so let’s get to it.

Here are your teams emerging from the tunnel for the first of three summer Tests.

South Africa

15. Willie le Roux
14. JP Pietersen
13. Lionel Mapoe
12. Damian de Allende
11. Lwazi Mvovo
10. Pat Lambie
9. Faf de Klerk

1. Tendai Mtawarira
2. Adriaan Strauss (Captain)
3. Frans Malherbe
4. Eben Etzebeth
5. Lood de Jager
6. Francois Louw
7. Siya Kolisi
8. Duane Vermeulen

Replacements:

16. Bongi Mbonambi
17. Trevor Nyakane
18. Julian Redelinghuys
19. Pieter-Steph du Toit
20. Warren Whitely
21. Rudy Paige
22. Elton Jantjies
23. Jesse Kriel

Ireland

15. Jared Payne
14. Andrew Trimble
13. Robbie Henshaw
12. Luke Marshall
11. Keith Earls
10. Paddy Jackson
9. Conor Murray

1. Jack McGrath
2. Rory Best (Captain)
3. Mike Ross
4. Iain Henderson
5. Devin Toner
6. CJ Stander
7. Jordi Murphy
8. Jamie Heaslip

Replacements:

16. Sean Cronin
17. Finlay Bealham
18. Tadhg Furlong
19. Ultan Dillane
20. Rhys Ruddock
21. Kieran Marmion
22. Ian Madigan
23. Craig Gilroy

Here we go then, anthems to let us know it’s time to settle down from the high of beating NZ and deal with some reality in Springbok territory.

Here we go, Pat Lambie kill kick off proceedings after a very red and emotional looking CJ Stander stood though two anthems.

Toner takes the kick-off and he’s taken out in the air. Instant pen.

Jackson’s first touch is a well-struck penalty up the line. Ireland build off the line-out and look to go wide, fast.

3 mins: The wide ruck yields another penalty as Loux goes off his feet after Stander carries. Jackson kicks the ball to the 22.

Murray finds McGrath, but the move is well measured by the ‘Boks and McGrath is wrapped up the instant he gets the ball.

Fortunately, it was De Klerk making the hit, otherwise the prop’s ribs would’ve been in big trouble.

Louw wasn’t deterred by an early whistle, he’s straight over the ball when Ireland attempt to run from their own half and he forces a penalty which Pat Lambie will aim at the posts.

Aaaaaaan he’s nudged it just right of the posts. Good strike, but overcooked it a bit.

7 mins: CJ Stander is proving a red rag to blue bulls.

‘Boks are flying in recklessly to try and smash him in a ruck. So recklessly they miss him and concede a penalty.

Jackson drills it to the 22 again.

8 mins: Ireland unable to sustain any pressure in the final third, but Adriaan Strauss has been called in for a chat as the ‘Boks ship their fourth penalty in eight early minutes.

Back we go, another line-out platform.

Much better from Ireland, straight in to a tidy maul. Murray hits Trimble on a angled run. He’s smashed, drops it, but SA pinged for offside again.

They’re going at a solid rate of two penalties a minute. Can Ireland capitalise, or can the ref punish them more?

TRY! South Africa 0 Ireland 7 (Payne ’11)

With a penalty advantage coming, Luke Marshall grubbers through the legs of a ‘Bok and Jared Payne reads the bounce quicker than anyone else and gets two hands on the ball to firmly dot down.

Jackson has no trouble with the conversion.

SIN-BIN: Lood de Jagr (11 mins)

The lock pays the price for the mountain of white penalties and the latest infringement was in the lead-up to Ireland’s try.

Super start from Ireland and now they can build against 14 men.

The yellow card looks to have focused the minds of the Springboks somewhat, very much back to basics when they’re shorn of a man and they win a penalty on the 22 metre line as Jamie Heaslip goes off his feet.

PENALTY! South Africa 3 Ireland 7 ( Lambie ’15)

Ireland back on the attack with CJ putting in big clear-outs before he carries in front of the posts. Excellent variation in the attack, Jackson spinning wide and inviting forwards in before launching a cross-field kick into orbit.

WHen it eventually comes down, JP Pietersen has it, but we come back for a penalty against De Allende for his high hit on Jacko.

PENALTY! South Africa 3 Ireland 10 (Jackson ’19)

20 mins: Gulp! COnor Murray is charged down by JPP. The bounces are going Ireland’s way though, the ball lands in the grasp of Luke Marshall and he shows his out-half pedigree with a fine clearance kick to the 10 metre line.

BAM! No sooner are the ‘Boks back to 15 than CJ Stander unwittingly smashes Lambie after jumping to attempt to block the kick. Play goes on…

The ref goes to TMO and he sees the hip connect with Lambie’s face and he somehow comes to the decision that CJ Stander deserves a red card.

That is unbelievale.

Matthieu Raynal has let the emotion and the injury get the better of him there. Stander connects with Lambie, but his back is turned.

Rory Best must feel a very strong sense of Deja vu right now, trying to reason with a French referee who wants to flash a red based on an injury, rather than the act.

South Africa obviously buoyed by that game-changing decision and build some pressure in the 22 until Jack McGrath goes off his feet under the posts. Raynal calls Best over to give Ireland a warning.

PENALTY! South Africa 6 Ireland 10 (Jantjies ’25)

We’ve seen rugby players set out to hurt and injure people, this was not one of those times.

TRY! South Africa 11 Ireland 10 (Mvova ’31)

And the ‘Boks hit the lead to twist the knife of inevitability in our gut. Jantjies gets a nice inside pass away to the flier while being smashed by Robbie Henshaw.

The centre could be in trouble here.

SIN-BIN: Robbie Henshaw

Rory Best is trying to argue that Luke Marshall was blocked while Mvovo is running for the line, but Raynal doesn’t want to see a second angle.

Jantjies adds the conversion.

South Africa 13 Ireland 10

Seven minutes to go in the half and Ireland will have to ride it out with 13 men and a sense of frustration that must be through the roof.

Yep, as frustrated as we all are. The pros out on the field have to gather themselves.

DROP-GOAL! South Africa 13 Ireland 13 (Jackson ’37)

Right on cue, Ireland put a superb phase of play together, Jared Payne cruising through the defence on a scything line. The platform is set in the 22 and Jackson takes the pressure on his shoulders and delivers a beautifully stuck droppy.

A meeting of mountains there as Lood de Jagr carries in to Iain Henderson. The Ulster man came out on top, with the ball after rippiing it from the ‘Bok lock. Vital turnover inside his 22.

A De Allende carry puts Ireland on the back foot, but Ireland’s scramble defence is exemplary.

The ‘Boks really should have put the chance away when Jantjies spun the ball left for a four on one, but Mvovo attempted to step inside Jackson and Marshall held him up. Still the chance was on, but the half ended with Louw’s touchdown being ruled no try as he launched himself from a left foot planted on the touchline.

HALF-TIME South Africa 13 Ireland 13

Alright then, heads up, lads. The second half is here and Ireland are level with the Springboks in Cape Town.

Robbie Henshaw is back from the bin to give Ireland a leg up and a 14th man.

It’s the pack who make their mark though, with a powerful maul before Jackson and Payne combine to unleash Trimble on the wing…

Trimble’s pop back inside is hit by Louw, Best takes it on and then Conor Murray sneaks his way over the line!

TRY! South Africa 13 Ireland 20 (Conor Murray ’42)

Jackson added the conversion after Murray did really well to finish after rolling out of a high tackle from Eben Etzebeth. No mean feat.

46 mins: South Africa are really struggling to settle in this Test and Ireland are playing incredibly well, fuelled by a sense of injustice.

Paddy Jackson steps through the defensive line. Brilliant footwork. He chips over the last man, but just can’t win the race for the loose ball.

Brilliant from the Ulster man, making the decision not to pick him in and around the team before now look all the more odd.

Etzebeth steals a line-out from Toner and we have the best attacking phase from the ‘Boks yet, flowing wide to the left through several sets of hands. But the move ends again with a capable drift D and hard hit from Trimble.

The ‘Boks finally beginning to show a bit of urgency for a team that’s 7 down to 14 men at home.

They go to the big men for straightforward carries in RIeland’s 22, but a trademark Rory Best domination of a ruck earns a turnover for Ireland and rocks the hosts back.

And on the follow-up phases, Devin Toner holds Etzebeth up and allows Best come in low and rip the ball away again. This is an incredible resistance from Ireland… but with an enormous caveat that the ‘Boks really do look poor.

Joe Schmidt is going to send Tadhg Furlong on. With plenty of space out there, it’s a touch too much to ask Mike Ross to go on covering more ground than he has a right to.

A typical barn-storming effort from Luke Marshall, slotting seamlessly into the Henshaw crash ball role as Ireland look for their primary exit strategy.

60 mins: Wow! With Andrew Trimble in as a blindside for Ireland’s scrummaging they go and drive the white shirts backwards in midfield. That’s an enormous penalty to win. Jackson will take a swing from long range.

So close. Jackson’s 50 metre penalty hits the post. Keith Earls is the first green shirt haring after the kick as ‘Boks stand under the posts trying to cope with the bobbling ball.

It’s just not happening for SA. Etzebeth, so often a furious front-runner in this team is the latest with a sloppy knock-on. Tadhg Furlong will relish a chance to scrum again on the halfway line.

Hold on though, Paddy Jackson is taking an ice pack to his back/neck/head. Here’s hoping he’s okay, because Ireland need a strong influence at 10 if they’re to see this out.

Sky commentary calling ‘Boks errors a virus at the minute and that about sums it up. Even Willie Le Roux coughs and splutters one into touch after Henshaw nudged a kick into the 22.

Ireland give it back though, Toner penalised at the line-out.

Yeow! Big Dev atones in a big way with a line-out steal to put the visitors back in possession in the ‘Bok half.

Jackson aims a kick for the corner, but it’s blocked. His team-mates catch the back-spinning pull and Ireland win a penalty as Malherbe plays the ball on the deck!

PENALTY! South Africa 13 Ireland 23 (Jackson ’68)

Paddy Jackson: clutch.

An absolutely brilliant, solidly hit strike from an angled 40 metre penalty gives Ireland a 10-point lead.

TRY! South Africa 20 Ireland 23 (Du Toit ’69)

Jackson makes his first mistake of the game, and it costs Ireland seven points. A pass to Jack McGrath is too flat, too short, too ambitious and Pieter Steph Du Toit nicks it and cruises under the posts.

72 mins: Ireland do not look like a team playing most of this game with 14 men, they are back pressing again, searching for a winning score. Jackson’s back in the pocket.

Oh, so close. It looked over, but the drop-goal sneaked just right of the posts.

Rhys Ruddock has been introduced with seven minutes to go and Jordi Murphy goes off with a mountain of work under his belt.

Malherbe in from the side again and the penalty comes for Ireland once more. Huge chance for Jacko to push Ireland out to a six-point lead again. But it’s from 40 metres, to the right.

PENALTY! South Africa 20 Ireland 26 (Jackson ’77)

77 mins: Another ice-cold swing from Jackson and Ireland are three minutes away from their first ever win on South Africa soil.

Jesse Kriel gets the ‘Boks going in attack, but will it be too little too late? This attack ran out of space and JPP couldn’t reach the pass from the centre.

We’re in the final minute and Ireland have the ball.

Conor Murray hangs up a box kick, Le Roux takes it and there will be one last attack..

It comes loose and Paddy Jackson is the first man down on it. There’s a knock on green called, so there will be one last scrum.

Ireland, the time is now.

There’s the hooter, coming as SA attack wide on the right. Ireland throwing bodies into tackles two at a time. They must hang on. This can not happen again.

JP Pietersen makes one last burst for the corner, but he’s bundled in to touch. That should be that, but Raynal (our mate) is going to the TMO again.

NO TRY

FULL-TIME! South Africa 20 Ireland 26

Holy hell. That’s it all over. Ireland put in one hell of a shift against South Africa and were by far the better team despite CJ Stander’s early red card.

We’ve got reaction, analysis and even some player ratings on the way over in our rugby section — just in case you thought it was all a weird dream.