Kicking woes 'not the only reason' Boks fell short in Ireland epic, says Nienaber

A defiant Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber said his charges' suspect goalkicking was not the sole reason for their 13-8 defeat against Ireland in a heated and absorbing Pool B clash at the Stade de France on Saturday.

South Africa left 11 points on the field off the kicking tee, allowing Ireland to not just stay in the game, but gain a crucial win that gives them a real chance of finishing top of the group.

Manie Libbok's opening penalty would prove to be the Boks' only successful kick to poles on the night as he subsequently missed another three-pointer as well as a conversion, before Faf de Klerk missed a difficult penalty that came off the crossbar and was wide with another.

Nienaber agreed the missed point-scoring opportunities from the tee were costly yet believes his troops' inability to convert their entries into the Irish 22m area was where they truly lost the game.

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"Hat's off to Ireland, they were better on the night, but yes, we missed a couple of points off the tee," he said.

"It's not the reason for not getting over the line because in the first half alone, we missed two balls close to the line.

"We had another two opportunities in the second half, which, along with the points from the tee that we missed, is probably the reason why [we fell short].

"But it's not the only reason we lost. I know you guys will probably say that, but there were opportunities that we had, like the one in the first half when we lost the ball under the poles.

"At the back end of the game, there was the last maul, we had a great opportunity there, so that's why we say hats off to Ireland. They were better than us on the night."

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