A last-gasp try from Andre Venter gave South Africa a slightly flattering 28-18 scoreline over Ireland at Lansdowne Road.

An interception on the half-way line saw the Springboks push the Irish right back to the goal line and Joost van der Westhuizen spun a quick and astute pass to Venter who only had to drop under the posts to seal victory.

Braam van Straaten converted to give the visitors a rather generous margin of victory which did not fully reflect the closeness of the contest.

South Africa took a three point lead with just a minute left through the boot of Percy Montgomery after the Irish needlessly conceded a penalty 22 yards out.

A stunning try from Tyrone Howe had brought Ireland level.

From a penalty inside their own half the irish conjured a sweeping move which saw Howe collect a beautiful dummy pass from Brian O'Driscoll and show his marker a clean pair of heels to run the ball home from 30 yards. David Humphries was unable to convert the try.

South Africa quickly regained their lead over Ireland early in the second half when Peter Roussouw crossed in the corner after van Straaten's kick had caused mayhem in the Irish defence. Roussouw was left with plenty of work to do but weaved his way over from six yards out. Percy Montgomery struck the post with his conversion attempt.

A 20-yard penalty from Ronan O'Gara saw Ireland level the match at the beginning of the second half.

A great try from Dennis Hickie hauled Ireland right back into the game. A thrilling break from the half-way line saw the Irish backs switch the ball wide to Rob Henderson, whose high, bouncing kick-on was gathered and grounded by Hickie under the posts. O'Gara calmly converted for the extra points.

Only a cynical late tackle on Tyrone Howe by Springboks full-back Tinius Delport prevent Ireland going over again in the 40th minute. Howe had kicked on and looked odds-on to win the race until he was taken out by Delport, who was sin-binned for his actions. From the resultant penalty, O'Gara missed a drop-goal chance to level the scores at half-time.

A try from Joost van der Westhuizen after 26 minutes had put South Africa firmly in the driving seat. The South African pack pushed the Irish right back on the try line and Westhuizen darted over to cap a spell of Springboks pressure. Percy Montgomery converted to press home the advantage.

O'Gara got Ireland on the scoreboard in controversial fashion on 30 minutes with a penalty which appeared to have drifted a yard wide of the right-hand post.

Montgomery kicked the first points of the game for South Africa in their friendly against Ireland with two penalties after 19 and 22 minutes at Lansdowne Road.

Firstly, Montgomery converted a simple chance directly in from of the posts 20 yards out with Ireland caught offside.

His second came about in identical cicumstances but was slightly more difficult, being about 10 yards further back and to the right of the centre of the field.

Ireland had made an enterprising start with Eric Miller stealing possession at a line-out with a magnificent leap.

The Irish moved the ball up to the Springboks' 22 before conceding a penalty for failing to release the ball.

South Africa hit back with a sustained spell of pressure which saw the ball rapidly moved across the pitch from left to right which broke down when Andrews was unable to collect the final pass on the wing and fumbled 15 yards out.

A great break from Rob Henderson on 12 minutes was only foiled by a superb recovery tackle from Montgomery who grounded the Irishman within 10 yards of the try-line.

Despite the absence of any points on the board, the opening period of the game was characterised by open, attacking play with a sprinkling of mistakes and regular turnovers of possession.

Teams:

Ireland: Dempsey, Hickie, O'Driscoll, Henderson, Howe, O'Gara, Stringer, Clohessy, Wood, Hayes, Longwell, O'Kelly, Miller, Dawson, Foley.

Replacements: Sheahan, Fitzpatrick, Johns, Ward, O'Meara, Humphreys, Horgan.

South Africa: Delport, Williams, Esterhuizen, Fleck, P. Rossouw, Montgomery, J. van der Westhuizen, Kempson, Smit, Meyer, van den Bergh, Andrews, Krige, A. Venter, Vos.

Replacements: Marais, Le Roux, Louw, A. Venter, Van Zyl, van Straaten, Kayser.

Referee: Steve Lander (England)