Midway through the press conference South African coach Jake White mused that "when you're in Rome (you must) do what the Romans do." It was a reference to the breakdown area during Saturday's Test match against Ireland but perhaps would have been just as apposite had he thought of it before his now infamous press conference last Tuesday.

Back then he chose to offer a candid opinion on the merits of the Ireland team that his Springboks side would encounter on Saturday, spawning the phrase that only three Irish players would make the South Africa match 22.

White would have been better served "in the land of blarney and the thousand welcomes" had he kept better counsel and adhered to the sterile stereotypes that prevail before Test match showdowns. Praise the opposition, no matter how pat it sounds.

Instead he raised his head above the parapet and had it taken off by his Irish counterpart Eddie O'Sullivan. The latter was not alone judging by several South African websites visited in the wake of Saturday's 17-12 defeat at Lansdowne Road.

While the majority of South African ire was reserved for New Zealand referee Paul Honiss, there was a significant backlash against White's pre-match observations. It was appropriate the solitary light of a television camera framed his post-match observations - there was a power failure in the media tent - the gloom not just applicable to the backdrop.

The South African attempted a little bridge-building, albeit displaying a selective memory. "I said it the whole time. They (Ireland) have a great side; they have been together for a while. They've really done well. They've beaten England at Twickenham. They beat Australia here at Lansdowne Road. They did really well in the World Cup, that opening game against Australia, who went on to play in the final.

"I don't think we ever came here thinking we'd arrive at Lansdowne Road, win the Test and leave. We knew it was going to be difficult. All credit to the Irish, I think that they stuck to their game well," but at this point humble pie was becoming unpalatable.

He was never going to survive the ordeal without recourse to the obvious question, the sugar-coated bullet arriving mid-inquisition with an Irish lilt. Care to revise your pre-match assessment?

"If it was a trial game today I would have picked all 15 Irish players to go on tour tomorrow."

The other contentious issue was Ronan O'Gara's try, a craven example of sharp practice or homage to a sharp mind, depending on your accent. John Smit, the softly spoken but hugely articulate Springbok captain, was furious with referee Honiss, the timbre of his voice notwithstanding.

Smit explained: "We'd been penalised. The ref called me up and said, 'Go and talk to your players.' He said it again. I turned my back and started calling my players in and saw the try being awarded. That's as simple as it is.

"It's difficult to understand and keep your players calm after that. I thought they (my players) re-gathered well and tried to fight back."

When the Springbok ran after the referee to seek a fuller explanation, Honiss simply offered: "Time's on." Asked whether he'd be interested in a post-match chat with Honiss, Smit replied: "It would be nice to see what he thinks of the situation. Considering we lost by five points, I'm quite angry."

However, the South African demonstrated grace, refusing when provoked to call for the official to be criticised.

"If I never made a mistake on a rugby field then I could say so. It is a game of sport and that's the way things go. You have to learn from these things. Sometimes when that happens you have to bounce back harder. We bounced back hard but not hard enough and ran out of time. It makes no difference now. Here we sit as losers."

Ireland coach O'Sullivan offered a different interpretation of the O'Gara try. "(It was) very smart thinking. Everyone assumed, including myself to be brutally honest, that he was going to put it in the corner, including, thankfully, the South Africans. It was a good piece of opportunism. That stuff usually tends to happen to Ireland."

It came as little surprise that O'Sullivan and Irish captain Brian O'Driscoll were handed several opportunities to be smug with regard to the pre-match banter but both generally refused the invitation. O'Driscoll observed: "As far as we were concerned we had motivation enough in terms of losing the two Tests during the summer. We wanted to go and perform well in Lansdowne and that a good performance would bring us a victory, as it did."

O'Sullivan briefly elaborated on why he felt the need to respond to his counterpart's words with a fusillade of his own in the build-up to the match. "I don't know if Jake was speaking for the whole of SA rugby. I thought he was being ungracious.

"It was the second time that he spoke about it. It was all about his criticism of Irish rugby. I was disappointed about that, a bit upset. I think I had to reply because it was the second time he said it. It had nothing to do with the game. I have huge respect for them and their history.

"It's all about respect and maybe we have earned some back today."

There's no argument there.