Springbok captain Siya Kolisi and man-of-the-match Jesse Kriel were both thrilled to clinch a fighting 27-20 win over Ireland in their first Test on home soil after their World Cup triumph in France, in the match played at a packed Loftus Versfeld on Saturday night.
The Boks were made to work incredibly hard to break a three-match losing streak over the Irish, which included losses in Dublin and France in the last two years, with the visitors giving a strong account of themselves despite the defeat.
Kolisi admitted that there is still plenty to work on for the Boks and that they would not be happy with a drawn series ahead of the second and final Test in Durban next weekend.
Very specialThis is very special. To be back at home, playing in front of our home crowd for the first time since the World Cup. We just want to say thank you to everyone that came out today. It was a tough game but I think it lived up to the close standards between the teams, said Kolisi.
With the support that we have in South Africa every game is very special, and the purpose we have behind this team and what we play for is what is driving us right now.
