Crowley owns up to 'costly' sin-bin error as Ireland reduced to 12 versus Springboks

Jack Crowley took responsibility for a "costly" sin-bin error after Ireland were reduced to 12 players in Saturday's 24-13 defeat to South Africa.

Ireland brought the curtain down on 2025 with a frustrating defeat in Dublin, having five players sent to the sin-bin at various points.

James Ryan received a 20-minute red card, while Crowley, Sam Prendergast, Andrew Porter and Paddy McCarthy were all issued yellows, with Ireland having to play to 12 men for 10 minutes of the second half.

Ireland came through that adversity to threaten an unlikely comeback in the second half, but Crowley was left to wonder what might have been.

"I probably went over that edge and was a little bit desperate," Crowley said. "As a result it was costly. They're the things you're trying to avoid.

"It's in my control to avoid that and it's something that's frustrating for the group, with the impact it has."

Nevertheless, the Munster fly-half was proud of the character shown by Andy Farrell's team on a chaotic outing.

"You are presented with the situation at hand, and the coaches and key leaders in the group put a plan in place and weren't phased by it," Crowley said.

"There was no panic. It was like, 'this is the situation, and this is how we're going to handle it'.

"We wanted to win and we knew we could. To be part of a group that fights that way for each other, I'm grateful to be part of that."