Ireland’s 14 men bring down South African giants to gain legendary status

South Africa 20 Ireland 26: The air may be thinner up here on the Highveld but it tasted oh so sweet for Ireland as they touched down in Johannesburg yesterday after their Cape Town heroics.

The bodies are bruised but mercifully intact and Irish minds are very much alive to the possibility that having secured a first victory over the Springboks in South Africa on Saturday at Newlands, they can now kick on and earn further status by winning a Test series.

Only the greats have managed that in South Africa and the success stories can be counted on one hand but joining the likes of Willie John McBride and Sean Fitzpatrick as a series-winning captain would be all the more remarkable for Ireland skipper Rory Best given the circumstances of this famous win.