Ireland ended the Springbok Women's season on a sour note at Athlone Stadium on Saturday, pulling away in the final quarter to win their WXV Global Series match 38-17 after a competitive opening 60 minutes.
The Bok Women made a bright start when Unam Tose crashed over from a lineout drive in the second minute, but Ireland — ranked fifth in the world — took control for much of the first half, using their width to create tries for Erin King and Beibhinn Parsons. A sin-bin for Alichia Arries for a dangerous tackle compounded South Africa's difficulties, though Sizophila Solontsi's corner finish off a lineout move and driving maul two minutes before the break kept the score at 14-10 to Ireland at half-time, with Jakkie Cilliers twice shaving the upright with her conversion attempts.
The Bok Women came out with intent in the second half and Vainah Ubisi's converted try in the 58th minute put South Africa back in front, briefly lifting the 3000-strong home crowd. Ireland responded almost immediately through Parsons' second try in the 61st minute, again finding space out wide.
The game turned decisively when Cilliers was sin-binned for a high tackle, leaving South Africa with six in the backline and no cover in the backfield. Aoife Dalton exploited the gaps with a line break that led to a converted try, making it 26-17 with ten minutes remaining. Parsons completed her hat-trick three minutes later to effectively seal the result, and Dalton added her second in the 79th minute for the final margin.
Parsons' three tries and Dalton's brace did the bulk of the damage, with Dannah O'Brien converting four. South Africa's own ill-discipline — two sin-bins and too many conceded penalties — ultimately proved too costly against Ireland's patient, composed ball movement.
Scorers — Springbok Women 17: Tries: Tose, Solontsi, Ubisi. Conversion: Cilliers. Ireland 38: Tries: King, Parsons (3), Dalton (2). Conversions: O'Brien (4).