The one unsettling caveat as South Africa 'completely' dominate Ireland

South Africa may have finally snapped their 13-year Dublin drought on Saturday night but head coach Rassie Erasmus isn’t pretending the performance was anywhere near complete.

The Bok coach admitted his side “were completely dominant for most parts of the game” yet still let Ireland cling on, win the second half and threaten a late twist despite long stretches of South African control.

The match’s chaotic feel wasn’t new to his squad, he said.

“We’ve had games with red cards and a concussion when there wasn’t a ping and we’ve had to grind it out, but in general, the match was very physical and there was obviously a 20-minute red card, which I thought was the correct call, so that the other player could come onto the field,” said Erasmus.

His caveat came when addressing South Africa’s failure to finish Ireland off. Andy Farrell’s side stubbornly refused to bow despite wave upon wave of Bok ballcarriers pummeling their defensive line for large parts of the second half.

“I thought we were completely dominant for most parts of the game, but we just couldn’t capitalise on it while we were inside the 22m area, so it was hectic and difficult to manage with who went off and came back on, but that’s Test match rugby and you have to understand and manage those situations.”

Ireland’s defensive edge was also acknowledged. “Ireland were just as physical to keep us out with the tackles and turnovers they made inside the 22m area, so it was physical, but I don’t think they came off second best there,” said the Bok coach.

And even at 11 points up, the match was still in the balance.

“If they scored in the last four minutes, then it would have been a restart and the game would have been on. It was definitely not a perfect performance, but there was a monkey on our backs that we had to get off.”

Erasmus insisted there was no revenge narrative at play against a team that has got the better of his side for the majority of his tenure in charge.

“It also wasn’t about revenge as people have been asking all week. It was a case of trying to fix things. In the scrums were dominant, but not in every department, and we opted for that option because they were down to seven men.”

The Boks now head to Cardiff missing players who will be recalled by the Japanese leagues and the URC.

“It’s been a long season for us, and a lot of the players have to go back to Japan and others will play in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship next week. But we are certainly proud after such a long season to grind through a win against a team such as them at home for the first time in 13 years.”