• Hugo Keenan — 7: Typically commanding, particularly in the first half. Ran bravely into — and, on one occasion, through — the South African rush. 

• Mack Hansen — 7: A couple of excellent aerial takes in the first half and scored Ireland’s only try, a walk-in from close range. Neither he nor the man opposite him, Cheslin Kolbe, saw a great deal of action.

• Garry Ringrose — 7: An utterly selfless and sore-looking display. Made a crucial, try-saving stop on Jesse Kriel after Kurt-Lee Arendse cut loose in the first half. He got bounced, he got stepped, but he seriously got around.

• Bundee Aki — 8: Attacked with the same disregard for his own body as Ringrose defended, while also making the same number of tackles. A lung-bursting first-half break amounted to most of his 66 metres off 14 carries, but he was every bit the thorn in South Africa’s side that Damian De Allende was in Ireland’s.

• James Lowe — 8: Made several game-changing contributions on both sides of the ball, including the initiation of an important choke tackle on Eben Etzebeth and a perfectly executed assist for his fellow wing Hansen’s try. Made a couple of mistakes, too, but Ireland wouldn’t have won the game were it not for his sheer work rate.

• Johnny Sexton (captain) — 8: Remarkable that he stood up to what was thrown at him, making 11 tackles on the way. Some nice touches in attack, too, including an improvised pass which sent Aki down the left briefly in the first half. That he stayed on for 72 minutes at 38 — even when we know, at this stage, that Jack Crowley is a serious operator — tells two stories: one of his greatness as an athlete, and another of his importance.

• Jamison Gibson-Park — 6: The stats will tell you he missed twice as many tackles as he made — but they won’t show you the number of times he found himself actively rucking, protecting Irish ball when South Africa went after it. Box kicks were an issue in the first half, albeit one not entirely of his own making.

• Andrew Porter — 8: On a night in which Ireland’s scrum was put under serious strain, he put in 75 minutes and got a key penalty out of Frans Malherbe which gave Ireland breathing room at the death. Made seven carries, joint second-most of Ireland’s forwards.

• Rónan Kelleher — 6: Carried and tackled with punch even when, presumably, he must have wanted the world to swallow him up with the way the lineout was going. Only two of those six lost lineouts were purely on Kelleher.  

• Tadhg Furlong — 7: Gave away two early free-kicks at scrum-time from which South Africa made easy escapes, but matched Steven Kitshoff all the way.

• Tadhg Beirne — 8: Massive at the breakdown against the most powerful forwards in the world. Hilarious to think there was once a line of thought that he wasn’t big enough to be a test lock. Capped a huge performance with a huge funt downfield that put South Africa under pressure.

• James Ryan — 7: Lineout went arseways under his watch but it was also corrected just before it would have become terminal. Ryan was replaced by Henderson on 52 minutes and will have more impactful days, as recent months have already demonstrated. Still managed to force a turnover off Siya Kolisi.

• Peter O’Mahony — 7: Got after it in trademark fashion. Made 11 tackles and a couple of abrasive carries. Won five lineouts on a night in which Ireland lost six, and forced a lineout error out of Etzebeth for good measure.

• Josh van der Flier — 8: Impactful in the carry, made 11 tackles like O’Mahony and also won two turnovers — one of them an inspirational jackal. A world-class performance against more physically imposing back rows.

• Caelan Doris — 8: An almost obligatory 8. Two frustrating, early handling errors were totally eclipsed by nine full-force carries for 27 metres, and a team-leading 13 tackles.

Replacements:

• Dan Sheehan (Kelleher 52′) — 7: Didn’t get the chance to carry much ball but smooth in the lineout and massive at the breakdown.

• Dave Kilcoyne (Porter 74′) — n/a

• Finlay Bealham (Furlong 63′) — 7: Found himself under pressure from the Bomb Squad at scrum-time but made seven tackles in less than 20 minutes of rugby. 

• Iain Henderson (Ryan 52′) — 8: Excellent overall impact at a ground where he typically goes well. Huge at ruck time and led from the front.

• Ryan Baird (O’Mahony 63′) — 7: Spent most of his 17 minutes committed to absolute drudgery, which was badly needed as South Africa upped the ante.

• Conor Murray (Gibson-Park 65′) — 8: What a player, and what an influence he had on the result with a massive jackal win and a big hit on Pieter-Steph du Toit which thwarted a late South African attack. 

• Jack Crowley (Sexton 72′) — 7: Relieved pressure with a huge clearance over Willemse’s head when Ireland badly needed it. Made three big tackles in the dying minutes.

• Robbie Henshaw (Ringrose 21′ & 63′) — 7: Did everything you’d want from a player of his calibre off the bench, twice.