South Africa 27-20 Ireland: Farrell's men fall just short in first test

Ireland fell just short in the first Test as South Africa secured a 27-20 win in Pretoria.

James Lowe produced a sensational offload to set up a debut try for Jamie Osborne and thought he had brought Andy Farrell’s men level with a superb breakaway score in the second half.

But the New Zealand-born player’s eye-catching effort was ruled out on review for an adjudged infringement by Ronan Kelleher before he gifted Cheslin Kolbe a try to put the Springboks back in control.

Conor Murray and Ryan Baird crossed for Ireland late on, either side of a penalty try for South Africa, in a remarkable finish at Loftus Versfeld Stadium.

But Rassie Erasmus’ side, aided by 10 points from the boot of fly-half from Handre Pollard, held on to seize the initiative ahead of next weekend’s second – and final – Test in Durban.

In worrying scenes, Ireland also saw scrum-half Craig Casey carried off on a stretcher after he hit his head on the pitch during a forceful tackle from RG Snyman.

Farrell’s tourists were seeking a fourth-successive Irish victory over South Africa following a captivating pool-stage win at last year’s World Cup in France.

The Springboks recovered from that 13-8 Paris defeat to retain the Webb Ellis Cup, while forthright comments emanating from their camp since have further stoked a growing rivalry between Test rugby’s two leading sides.

Home supporters humorously fanned the flames by adapting the words of Ireland’s unofficial World Cup anthem ‘Zombie’, chanting “in your head, in your head, Rassie, Rassie” in reference to the frequent mind games of head coach Erasmus.

South Africa responded to the big build-up and made a rapid start as jet-heeled wing Arendse collected Siya Kolisi’s pass to sidestep Osborne and cross on the