Bealham and O'Brien prove Ireland are building depth

The relief that Ireland were going to make it to half time with their heads above water quickly made way to fear at the sight of Tadhg Furlong down, holding his ankle.

The tighthead had just contributed to a brilliant defensive set for Ireland, James Ryan's lineout steal flicked back over his own tryline, and it took the brute strength of Furlong to force his way back out and avoid conceding a five metre scrum.

He looked uncomfortable though, and it was no surprise when he failed to return for the second half. But considering South Africa's pack had been in relative control for the first 40 minutes, you'd have backed them to hammer the nail in the second half, with Ireland deprived of their most crucial forward.

The fact that Ireland won without Furlong is as big a boost as the result itself. Better yet, they had the better of the scrum in his absence, with three second half penalties won off the Boks.

Finlay Bealham is no rookie, and Andrew Porter's move across to loosehead has seen him exposed to regular Test rugby, which he now looks comfortable in. Of his 25 Test caps, 12 have been won in the last 18 months, and he's featured in all but two of Ireland's games since the summer of 2021.

On Saturday was on top of Steven Kitshoff at the scrum, and although Ox Nché got the better of him on one drive, the Springboks were lucky to get away with an early shove on that occasion.

Around the pitch, Bealham also helped provide secure ball with 16 ruck arrivals, a solid tally for a 40-minute shift.

"He was awesome," head coach Andy Farrell said of Bealham's contribution.

"Finlay coming on, he has grown in confidence every single time he has come on the field at international level. I thought his scrum was excellent, he was nice and