Rassie Erasmus knows his Springbok team was far from perfect as they achieved their goal of ending an eight-year wait to beat Ireland.
South Africa klapped the Iere 27-20 at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday for a first win against the visitors since 2016 – the last time Ireland toured in SA.
The two teams meet again this weekend in the second and final Test in Durban and Erasmus knows his Boks will have to go up another level if they want to win the series.
The Bok Boss says: “I think for both teams there was some good and some bad moments.
“It was a game where you could see they [Ireland] are a team that has played together since the Six Nations. And we have not been together for a very long time.
“There were some brilliant moments but also some awful moments, which is definitely some things we can work on. I can’t talk for them, but they are a class team.”
Of finally besting the Irish, Erasmus says: “The last few games between us have been [lost by] three points and to beat them with seven – no matter if it’s home or away – it’s a relief, because they have been a team that we have struggled against the last six years.”
Ireland coach Andy Farell, meanwhile, believes they lost the match in the first half, saying: “In the first half, I thought we were off…
“After some words at half-time, I thought it was courageous the way we defended and got ourselves back into the game…”
Kurt-Lee Arendse’s step is a work of art 🤩
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) July 6, 2024
📺 Stream #RSAvIRE live: https://t.co/0P0NNhnwKw | #Springboks pic.twitter.com/9IzQMpDDtb
“Suka phez’kwebaty’ yam ndiphangele kwedini.”
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) July 6, 2024
This was a big hit from umkhokheli 💪
📺 Stream #RSAvIRE live: https://t.co/0P0NNhnwKw | #Springboks pic.twitter.com/SlZK9iCASU