Ireland pull away late to deny Springbok Women in Cape Town

The Bok Women showed plenty of promise and led the contest with 20 minutes remaining at Athlone Stadium, but Ireland's experience and composure proved decisive as the visitors scored three converted tries in the closing stages to produce a scoreline that flattered the vistors.

The Bok Women made an excellent start despite playing into a stiff breeze, with Unam Tose crashing over from a powerful lineout drive in the second minute.

However, Ireland responded with tries from with Erin King and Beibhinn Parsons to take a 14-5 lead.

The hosts finished the half strongly, though, with captain Sizophila Solontsi scoring in the corner after a clever lineout move and driving maul. Jakkie Cilliers missed the conversion, leaving Ireland 14-10 ahead at half-time.

South Africa carried that momentum into the second half and took the lead in the 58th minute when Vainah Ubisi crossed after sustained pressure in the Irish half. Cilliers added the extras to put the Bok Women 17-14 ahead and raise hopes of a memorable victory.

Those hopes were quickly dashed, however, as Parsons scored her second try just three minutes later, with Ireland exploiting space out wide to regain the lead. South Africa's task became even harder when Cilliers was sent to the sin bin for a high tackle.

Ireland capitalised on their numerical advantage, with Aoife Dalton breaking through to score a converted try and extend the lead to 26-17 with 10 minutes remaining. Parsons then completed her hat-trick before Dalton added her second try in the 79th minute to seal a comprehensive victory.

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