White, speaking after the outing, didn't hide his disappointment at the poor Bok performance and said that there were a lot of lessons to be learnt.

"I think a lot of the players thought they just needed to pitch up tonight [Tuesday] and go through the motions [to win]," said White.

"We had enough possession in the beginning of the game. We just struggled to gain any momentum," the Bok coach added.

White felt his team could and probably should have scored more points in the first 15 to 20 minutes of the game.

Although his team were obviously lethargic, White tried to look for the positive aspects of the outing.

He praised the Irish outfit for their tenacity, adding that as the game progressed the Connacht team gained confidence.

White's team will get an opportunity to prove that they have learnt from the trip to Galway when they face Scotland in their final Cup warm-up match in Edinburgh on Saturday.

Tuesday's outing was an opportunity for fringe players to push for selection in the starting XV in key World Cup games, but based on the performance in Galway they may well have to settle for the games against the minnows.

The disappointing Bok performance was compounded by that fact hooker Bismarck du Plessis was yellow-carded in the 53rd of the game for punching. Du Plessis also faces the possibility of a citing by match officials.