It was without doubt the worst performance by a Springbok team this year, possibly the worst since Jake White took over as Bok coach in 2004.

It was not the kind of performance you would expect from a team that is rated as one of the favourites to win the World Cup when it gets underway in France next month.

You got the distinct impression that the Boks were arrogant and felt they simply had to turn up to win the game.

The problem was, they failed to turn up for the game and were just plain awful.

Despite having a superior set of forwards, the Boks lacked structure and looked disinterested.

In contrast, Connacht showed commitment and courage, while also looking far more energetic than the visitors.

It was meant to be an opportunity for the Bok fringe players to put up their hands for starting places in the crucial games in the World Cup. Judged on Tuesday's performance, the Bok coach may well have a major problem if any of his first-choice players are indeed injured.

To call it a shocking performance will be a compliment to the South Africans.

One also has to credit the Irish team's players for their endeavour and energy. They came to play. The Boks did not.

The Boks put their marker down very early, with a series of powerful charges by the forward pack - which resulted in a penalty. Butch James, playing at inside centre, slotted the easy kick from in front to give the Boks a 3-0 lead after just two minutes.

Despite that initial surge the Connacht team showed great commitment on defence and held the Boks away from their tryline for a lengthy period, even managing to put together a few attacking phases of their own.

In this period the tourists had no structure and the result was that they had nothing to show for their obvious forward superiority. The Boks simply threw the ball around nilly willy and all too often passes went to ground, instead of to hand.

The first half was one of hugely contrasting styles, with the Connacht team looking commitment and full of endeavour. Their structures looked solid, while the Springboks looked disinterested - almost as if they were treating it as a social game of touch.

They also paid dearly for their apathy, as the Connacht team spent the latter stages of the first half camped near the Bok 22.

Connacht had a golden opportunity to level the scores, right on the half-time whistle, but Tim Donnelly's penalty attempt drifted wide to bring an end to a very disappointing first half.

The home team would have taken great heart out of the first 40 minutes, but they would also have known that they were facing a Bok team not looking remotely like an international side.

South Africa looked to bring some structure back into their game after the break and it soon paid dividends - with Ashwin Willemse going over in the 44th minute. It came from a series of very good rucks and drives by the Bok pack, before Butch James sliced through to set up the try. James' conversion attempt drifted wide, but the Boks were up 8-0.

However, the Boks soon lost their structure and patience again, as they struggled to deal with the niggling and physical tactics of the Irish team.

In the 53rd minute South Africa were reduced to 14 men when hooker Bismarck du Plessis was yellow carded for punching - with the Bok front row forward lucky not to be red-carded. He may well attract the attention of the citing official.

The Boks had a chance to stretch their lead soon afterwards, but James' penalty attempt drifted well wide.

In fact it was Connacht who scored next, after a period of sustained pressure, with replacement Andy Dunn slotting a 64th minute penalty which raised the home team hopes.

This seemed to wake the Boks out of their slumber, with Jacques Cronjé - one of two non-World Cup players in the side - charging over for South Africa's second try. It was one of the few well-worked, structured moves of the night. It came from a line-out and a series of forward rushes.

André Pretorius, in his first game since the Super 143 and after recovering from a serious hamstring injury, added the conversion for a 15-3 lead after 68 minutes.

Three minutes later Pretorius slotted a penalty to make it 18-3 and less than 10 minutes to go.

Connacht now launched a series of raids on the Bok try-line, trying for one last moment of glory.

However, the Boks showed one aspect of their game functioned well, holding the home side out.

Man of the match: Very few players put their hands on the South African side, in what was a very forgettable performance. Wikus van Heerden were the best of an ordinary bunch. The real stars were in the Connacht side, who were meant to be cannon-fodder for the World Cup stars. Our award goes to Connacht scrum-half Conor McPhillips, who had a sound game behind a retreating pack.

Moment of the match: The final whistle!

Villain of the match: One is tempted to give it to the entire Bok team for the arrogance they showed in thinking they only needed to arrive to win. However, Bismarck du Plessis gets it for his senseless and needless act of foul play that may yet cost him more dearly than just a yellow card.

The scorers:

For Connacht:

Pen: Dunn

For South Africa:

Tries: Willemse, Cronjé

Con: Pretorius

Pens: James, Pretorius

Yellow card: Bismarck du Plessis (South Africa, 53 - foul play, punching)

Teams

Connacht: 15 Peter Durcan, 14 Ofisa Treviranus, 13 Mel Deane, 12 Aidan Wynne, 11 John Hearty, 10 Tim Donnelly, 9 Conor McPhillips, 8 Colm Rigney, 7 Ray Ofisa, 6 John Muldoon, 5 Andrew Farley, 4 David Gannon, 3 Robbie Morris, 2 Adrian Flavin, 1 Brett Wilkinson,

Replacements: 16 Joe Merrigan, 17 Brian McGovern, 18 Michael Swift, 19 Michael McCarthy, 20 Johnny O'Connor, 21 Tom Tierney, 22 Andy Dunn.

South Africa: 15 JP Pietersen, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 Waylon Murray, 12 Butch James, 11 Ashwin Willemse, 10 Ruan Pienaar, 9 Ricky Januarie, 8 Bob Skinstad (captain), 7 Danie Rossouw, 6 Wikus van Heerden 5 Albert van den Berg, 4 Johann Muller, 3 BJ Botha, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Gürthro Steenkamp.

Replacements: 16 Gary Botha, 17 CJ van der Linde, 18 Bakkies Botha, 19 Jacques Cronjé, 20 André Pretorius, 21 Jaque Fourie, 22 Bryan Habana.

Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)

Touch judges: Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland), Leo Colgan (Ireland)