Schmidt lauds Ireland's resilience

The 26-20 win was Ireland's first-ever win against the Boks on South African soil and they had to do it with 14 men for a large part of the game.

Ireland loose forward CJ Stander was red-carded in the 22nd minute after knocking out Patrick Lambie while attempting to charge down a kick.

They were also reduced to 13 men a few minutes later when centre Robbie Henshaw got a yellow card for a high tackle on replacement flyhalf Elton Jantjies.

Despite the two setbacks, Ireland were still the superior side throughout the game. Their strong defence and superiority up front laid the platform for victory against a shockingly poor Springbok team. 

"It's pretty hard to put into words really. I thought it was an incredibly collective effort," said Schmidt.

"When we were down to 13 players nine minutes before half-time, the players scrambled to keep them out and then there was almost a direct repeat at the end of the second half again when we managed to scramble across and three or four players turned up to avoid the try being scored.

"For the players, they can be incredibly proud of the effort they put in."

Schmidt also believed that the red card shown to Stander in the first half was not the right decision by referee Mathieu Raynal. Lambie had to be stretchered off after the collision. 

"I though the red card was very harsh to be honest. CJ had both hands extended. Once you are in the air you can't change your trajectory. 

"I think Pat Lambie is a super player and I certainly hope he is ok. I know CJ and Pat are friends and CJ was upset. 

"It is one of those things that happens. I think sometimes when there is an injury like that, the consequence is that a card comes out and that was a result," Schmidt added.

Schmidt also admitted that the Springboks' inaccuracies throughout the 80 minutes made it easier for them to the get the win in the end.

"They probably let us off the hook a couple of times.

"There was a little bit of inaccuracy sometimes from the Springboks - a couple of dropped balls when they really had us starting to go backwards defensively, but they still put us under real pressure. 

"I think Siya Kolisi, a couple of times, really knocked players back, while Pieter-Steph [du Toit] brought a fair bit off the bench. He obviously got that intercept, but apart from that, his athleticism was clearly visible. 

"It did look like a first performance together for the Springboks.

"I have no doubt that they will improve in Johannesburg. I think it would be dangerous to get too carried away with today's performance. 

"We are incredibly excited by the small step we took today, but there are two incredibly large steps still to take - one of them at altitude - and that will be very tough," said Schmidt.

By Warren Fortune

@rugby365com