Ireland trail Springboks at the break

Ireland 6 South Africa 13

South Africa entered half time of today’s autumn international at Aviva Stadium with a solid lead.

Flanker Juan Smith ran in an intercept try in the 17th minute while fly-half Morne Steyn kicked a conversion and two penalties.

Ireland’s play was disjointed and they spent much of the half feeding off scraps with Jonathan Sexton booting two penalties.

Rows of empty seats greeted the teams at kick-off, a result of the ticketing fiasco that forced the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) to issue an embarrassing apology on Monday.

Those that had turned up saw South Africa take an early lead when Morne Steyn kicked a penalty to land his 39th consecutive shot at goal.

The Springboks were denied the chance to make real inroads by two thunderous tackles from Ireland, who were hunting runners in small groups.

Feeding off scraps in the opening 10 minutes, Ireland almost profited when O’Driscoll chased down Cian Healy’s fly-hack but full-back Gio Aplon did a good job of clearing the danger.

Signs of rust were evident as Irish passes failed to stick and it was poor handling that enabled South Africa to extend their lead.

An Irish line-out saw Eoin Reddan attempt an ill-advised pass meant for Luke Fitzgerald but the lurking Juan Smith intercepted before completing the 65-metre race to the line, riding a tackle from Rob Kearney as he crossed the whitewash. Steyn converted.

It had been a poor opening 20 minutes from Ireland but they got off the mark when Sexton landed a penalty, the fly-half having missed a very kickable chance moments earlier.

Worryingly for the green shirts, South Africa had established a comfortable lead without playing particularly well.

Ireland were still struggling to secure any possession, though at least their defence was holding up.

A promising and rare attacking move ended when Tommy Bowe gave Luke Fitzgerald a forward pass, summing up a disappointing first half.

The rain began to fall more heavily, resulting in both sides dropping passes, and the half finished with Steyn and Sexton exchanging penalties.