Ireland 'hard on themselves' after losses - Ringrose

Ireland centre Garry Ringrose says the Six Nations winners have been "putting it all out there" in the aftermath of Saturday's defeat by South Africa.

The world champions beat Ireland 27-20 in the series opener in Pretoria and Andy Farrell's side play the Springboks again on Saturday in Durban in their final game of the season.

"When it doesn’t work out a lot of guys are quite hard on themselves, so it’s about being open and honest and transparent," said Ringrose.

"That’s what the last few days have looked like.

"It's not being hard or soft - it’s just dealing with the reality of the game. What can we do better? What looked good and what we can build on?"

Inevitably for a side ranked number two in the world, this Ireland team does not lose very often, though suffered two key defeats this season to New Zealand in a World Cup quarter-final and in the Six Nations to England, a result that cost them back-to-back Grand Slams.

However, Ringrose says they are able to handle the losses in a positive way.

"There’s no egos in the group and, while we say it’s a special group and we all feel privileged to be part of it, we all want to do our best and ultimately win.

"But that is a by-product of being focused and hard working and enjoying each other’s company and Saturday is a huge opportunity to have the chance to go again."

While Saturday's Test brings a long year to a conclusion for the Ireland team, Ringrose feels "ready to go" having missing most of the second half of the season.

A shoulder injury restricted him to just one Six Nations appearance as a replacement and he only returned to Leinster for the United Rugby Championship semi-final defeat by the Bulls.

He made an impact coming on at half time last week against the world's undisputed number one ranked side and is hopeful of more minutes on Saturday.

"From my perspective I was injured a lot so I never think back on the long season, it's all about the week that’s in it and giving it everything," Ringrose said.

"It (rugby) is a bit of a religion here so it’s cool being in that environment."

South Africa will feel confident they can complete a series win over Ireland on Saturday.

While admitting it is not easy to find positives from defeat, Ringrose pointed to the opportunities Ireland created, but did not take, in the first Test as a plus.

"I think there is another level in how we can play," he said.

"Credit to South Africa for how strong they are in defence and the pressure they put you under, and in attack they have really good variety.

"The positive for us I guess is having the opportunity to go again and knowing we can be better."