Flyhalf Elton Jantjies kicked South Africa to a 19-13 win over Ireland in the third and final Test but it took some desperate defending to clinch the series Saturday at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. The Springboks, who only saw some 30 percent of the ball in the game, hung on through an anxious last 10 minutes as the visitors came with meters of a last-gasp try that would have handed them a historic victory. Both sides scored a try with Ireland going over first after 16 minutes when Luke Marshall crashed through the Springbok defense after a strong build up. South Africa conjured up a clever try on the stroke of halftime as Jantjies kicked up into the left-hand corner for flying win JP Pietersen to snatch the ball out of the air and cross over. South Africa was again disjointed as a clever Irish side kept asking questions and the tourists went 10-3 ahead with 20 minutes gone. Marshall's first test try came as Ireland showed patience with ball in hand and put together several key phases to allow the center to force a break in the home defense. But the Boks went into a 13-10 halftime lead just before the break after a piece of improvisation from Jantjies found Pietersen with uncanny precision. In the second half, just nine points were added to the score. A long-range penalty from wing Ruan Combrinck extended the lead on the hour and then Jantjies popped over another penalty to make it 19-10. Paddy Jackson, who kicked eight points for Ireland, brought it back to a six-point game with 10 minutes to go, sparking a last furious burst from the Irish. But tenacious home defending kept them away from the try line to hand South Africa an unconvincing series win. "We grinded it out a bit but it was good to get the win. It was a tough series. The forwards did all the hard work to play the platform today," said South Africa captain Adriaan Strauss. Ireland won a Test in South Africa for the first time when it won the opening encounter 26-20 at Newlands but last weekend went down 32-26 at Ellis Park in the second test. "We were just inches away, it speaks volumes of our boys. The fact that we were within six points in two tests is a testimony to our players," said Ireland skipper Rory Best. — Reuters
