Ireland beat Springboks to end year unbeaten

Dublin: Jonathan Sexton justified his selection ahead of record points-holder Ronan O'Gara by kicking Ireland to a 15-10 defeat of South Africa to complete an unbeaten year of test rugby on Saturday.

Sexton booted over five penalties as Ireland rallied from an early 10-3 deficit at Croke Park.

"It's a great way [to end the year], the whole year undefeated, it's brilliant," No 8 Jamie Heaslip said.

The test was billed as the best of the Northern Hemisphere against the best of the South, pitting the Six Nations champion against the Tri-Nations winner. Nine of the Irish lineup were in the Lions side beaten in a bitter series in the republic over the summer.

But the Springboks weren't as fresh as then. Lock Bakkies Botha was a last-minute withdrawal but they still believed they could end an unprecedented two-match losing streak to the home side.

In a frenzied opening, South Africa responded to Sexton's first penalty by opting against taking a kick at goal. Flanker Schalk Burger was at the end of a wide move to charge over the line in the 16th minute. Morne Steyn's conversion and drop goal put the Boks up 10-3 after 24 minutes.

Sexton cut the deficit to four in the 30th, then Steyn missed two long-range penalties just before the break, and another after it. Sexton landed two consecutive shots in a four-minute span to put Ireland ahead 12-10 as South African discipline crumbled.

The Springboks' scrum was sturdy but the lineout was picked apart by Ireland, and Botha's replacement Andries Bekker conceded the go-ahead penalty when he dropped his knee into David Wallace.

Sexton missed for the first time, but five minutes later he made it 15-10 with 14 minutes to go when Victor Matfield was penalised for not releasing on the ground. Sexton made five of seven goalkicks.