Ireland booked their spot in the World Rugby U20 Championship final after thundering to victory against the Junior Boks in the semi-final at Athlone Stadium on Sunday.
A dominant second-half display from Ireland secured a 31-12 win to close the curtains on a forgettable Junior Boks campaign.
After valiantly keeping waves of Bok attack at bay in an otherwise scoreless first half, a late yellow card to replacement lock Jannes Potgieter opened the door for Ireland and winger James Nicholson sprinted through it to give the visitors a 7-0 lead at half time.
Though Jean Smith missed a pair of shots at goal, South Africa struck in the third quarter with a scintillating counter-attack capped off by scrumhalf Imad Khan, but Ireland shifted gears as No 8 Brian Gleeson crashed over, Nicholson scored a second and replacement back Sam Berman dotted down.
A consolation try from lock Coetzee le Roux was all to show for the Boks in the closing minutes as Ireland finished well-deserved victors.
Photo: Twitter/@JuniorBoks