Aki lauds Irish fight but admits Springboks a class apart  

Like others, Bundee Aki is choosing to believe that this defeat will stand to Ireland going forward.

Ireland's Bundee Aki with his family after the defeat by South Africa. Pic ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan

Rugby is a complicated game. Never more so than on Saturday evening in Ballsbridge when it was a challenge at times just to confirm how many players Ireland had on the pitch against the Springboks.

Andy Farrell’s men played just 34 of the 80 minutes with 15 men at the weekend. If that was as bad as it got then it would have been serious enough. The fact they were reduced from 14 to 13, and from 13 to 12 at one point, threatened to make things farcical.