Ireland made a game of this but only just and far too late. Ten minutes from time, they trailed South Africa 23-9 having been overrun for most of the day. But a late burst of excitement mostly concocted by Ronan O'Gara winning his 100th cap as a substitute almost came off spectacularly. In the end, they came up short by just two points and were flattered by the scoreline on the stadium's first rugby international night.

The lights were on for it but thanks to the IRFU's overtly grabby ticket policy, there weren't all that many home. All around the bright shiny new stadium you could see bare patches of empty green seats, like grotty pimples on a pretty face. Once a downpour came in the first half and sent what patrons there were scampering back into the covered reaches of the stands, the full extent of the union's embarrassment was clear.

It lent the place a grim feel for the evening. For much of the game, you could have heard a pin whispering as it floated gently to the ground. This was Lansdowne of old alright – the Lansdowne from way back when you could hear the players call to each other on the pitch. The hits put in by Stephen Ferris, Donncha O'Callaghan and Jamie Heaslip – and there were plenty of them as South Africa took the bulk of the possession and ran with it – would have echoed up as far as the cheap seats had there been any.

Those hits were vital to keeping Ireland in the game because at times here South Africa threatened to streak away. They certainly had enough ball to do so. Their line-out was all-consuming with Victor Matfield at his menacing best and at no point did Ireland look comfortable on their own ball. By midway through the second half, Ireland had lost as many line-outs as they'd won, while the Springboks were virtually spotless.

Bend enough in such a crucial area and you can't be surprised if eventually you break. So it proved. After 17 minutes, O'Callaghan fluffed a tap-in line-out on the South African 22, leaving Eoin Reddan to have to scramble back to make something of it. In a panic, Reddan tried to rescue the situation by shovelling a pass inside to Luke Fitzgerald. The medicine was worse than the cure though – Reddan hadn't lifted his head and had missed Juan Smith stealing in between him and Fitzgerald. Smith was left with a free run to the line, with only a late flailing tackle by Rob Kearney providing any sort of speedbump. It wasn't enough, as Smith slid over the line.

Morne Steyn kicked the extras and allied to an earlier penalty by the South Africa out-half, it pushed the visitors into a 10-0 lead. Although Jonny Sexton put Ireland on the board after 27 minutes – albeit after missing a routine chance to do so only a minute or so earlier – it was only a gesture towards being a threat. The world champions were bossing the game. Their kicks went parallel to the sideline rather than across it, leaving Ireland to kick back into trouble. Steyn and Sexton swapped penalties in the run-up to half-time but it was hard to feel that there was more than one side in with a chance to win as we took our tea.

And when full-back Gio Aplon slashed between O'Callaghan and Kearney on 65 minutes to dot down under the posts, we assumed this was done and dusted. With substitute out-half Patrick Lambie adding the conversion, it put South Africa 23-9 ahead and in control. As everybody took their position again for the restart, Ireland sent Ronan O'Gara on for his 100th cap. He almost came on unnoticed and those who did see it would have pitied his lot, reaching such a milestone in such hopeless circumstances.

O'Gara had other ideas though. Straight away, Ireland were more direct, more energetic. Four minutes after his introduction, he chipped over the cover for Tommy Bowe to run on to, leaving him a clear run for the try. Two minutes later, he orchestrated a desperate attack from Ireland, twice turning down penalties and eventually sending Kearney over.

His conversion attempt hit the post, cruelly robbing him of saving the day.

Ireland R Kearney; T Bowe, B O'Driscoll, G D'Arcy, L Fitzgerald; J Sexton, E Reddan; C Healy, R Best, T Buckley, D O'Callaghan, M O'Driscoll, S Ferris, D Wallace, J Heaslip Subs T Court for Buckley, 51 mins; D Ryan for O'Driscoll, 63 mins; P Stringer for Reddan, R O'Gara for Sexton, 65 mins; K Earls for Kearney, 75 mins Scorers Bowe, Kearney, try each; Sexton 3 pens; O'Gara 1 con

South Africa G Aplon; B Basson, Z Kirchner, J de Villiers, B Habana; M Steyn, R Pienaar; T Mtawarira, B du Plessis, J du Plessis, B Botha, V Matfield, D Stegmann, J Smith, P Spies Subs P Lambie for Steyn, 59 mins; K Daniel for Stegmann, 65 mins; A Jacobs for De Villiers, 67 mins; F van der Merwe for B Botha, CJ van der Linde for J du Plessis, 71 mins Scorers Smith, Aplon try each; Steyn 3 pens, 1 con; Lambie 1 con

Referee N Owens (Wales)