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Ireland’s second June Test saw them lose 32-26 to South Africa in Johannesburg.
South Africa started well, with Iain Henderson knocking on under immense pressure from Eben Etzebeth. The Springboks won a penalty from the ensuing scrum, and Elton Jantjies’ successful kick at goal gave the home team a 3-0 lead.
Ireland then got a firm grip on the game as the indiscipline and disorganisation that characterised South Africa’s performance the week before resurfaced.
They allowed the ball to be ripped from their grasp with ease and Ireland again profited from targeting Lwazi Mvovo with kicks.
When Ireland demolished the Springbok scrum, a landslide victory didn’t look out of the question for the visitors. South Africa didn’t seem to have any idea of how to wrestle control of the game back, and it was hard to believe that one of superpowers of international rugby could handle the ball so badly.
Paddy Jackson punished South African infringements around the breakdown by slotting a succession of three-pointers, giving Ireland a 12-3 lead by the end of the first 30 minutes. Going into the break, Ireland were in the driver’s seat.
However, the intensity of Ireland’s tackling dropped noticeably in the second half. They began standing off South Africa in defence, letting them make several yards after contact (especially in midfield). Faf de Klerk and Jantjies posed more of a threat with ball in hand and space to run into.
With more possession and a reduced error count, the Springboks moved the ball wide to one touch line, and then used their forwards to move across towards the other, with around-the-corner carries. Adriaan Strauss, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Siya Kolisi were used to devastating effect in this regard.
Damien de Allende and Lionel Mapoe both underperformed in the first Test of this series, but they grew into this game as the second half progressed. Ireland struggled to deal with de Allende’s power, while Mapoe’s running lines and offloading dragged Ireland’s defence out of shape and put them under pressure to reorganise.
Mvovo’s substitution for Ruan Combrinck provided South Africa with much-needed security under the high ball, as well as a level of physicality that Ireland’s passive wide defence couldn’t cope with.
These defensive errors will have frustrated Andy Farrell and the rest of the Irish management no end, as aggressive line speed and quick reorganisation had worked so well the previous week.
Going into the final quarter, Ireland’s bench players were having minimal impact and their starting players were running on fumes. South Africa recognised this and opted for quick throw-ins from touch and ball off-the-top from lineouts to prevent Ireland from taking a breather. Three tries in the space of 12 minutes tells its own story.
It was a disappointing result for Ireland, but they can take heart from how well some their players stepped up to such an enormous challenge.
Rory Best’s form in this series has been vital to Ireland being competitive in the tight phases. His scavenging over the ball to win a turnover at the half-hour mark was a microcosm of a performance where he was always at the heart of the action.
Jack McGrath didn’t make as many yards with ball in hand, but he was ever-present in defence and at rucks. It was at tight where he really shone. He had a telling advantage over Frans Malherbe in the scrum that paved the way for a dominant Irish scrummaging performance.
Tadhg Furlong’s performance should go some way towards cementing his place in Ireland’s starting XV. Mike Ross has never been a particularly mobile prop and he has slowed down considerably over the last few seasons. Whenever Furlong has replaced Ross (either for Leinster or Ireland), he as always made much more impact around the park.
Devin Toner put in another commanding performance. The few lineouts that Ireland did have, he organised well, bar one that was stolen by Etzebeth. He was one of Ireland’s leading tacklers and he displayed great athleticism and dynamism to score his try.
Quinn Roux’s selection in the second row gave Ireland more power in the scrum, which was crucial to their advantage in this area. He also stole South Africa’s second lineout, but he was relatively quiet around the pitch. His substitution for Donnacha Ryan in the 51st minute depowered Ireland’s scrum, giving them a mobile tackler and ball-carrier instead.
Henderson’s selection at 6 saw him used more as a ball-carrier. His footwork before and during contact got him over the gain line and he remained one of Ireland’s most prominent tacklers and ruck smashers.
Rhys Ruddock’s yards after contact were impressive and he showed good presence of mind to offload the ball away from South Africa’s heavy hitters at 33:38 for Ireland’s first try. He tackled aggressively, going low first and then driving the ball-carrier backwards.
Ireland’s work at the breakdown was a tale of two halves. For the first 40 minutes, they seemed to have learnt their lessons, clearing out well beyond the ball to deny South African interference. After the break, though, the Springbok pack put them under pressure on the ground, counter-rucking to win possession back and forcing Ireland to work with static ball.
Three of Conor Murray’s box-kicks were too long for his chasers to have a realistic chance of competing, but the others were well-judged, getting Ireland a long way down the pitch as well as going far into touch. He drew a penalty from the South African fringe defence in the 59th minute that gave Ireland the platform for their second try.
Murray won’t be happy with his defensive efforts in de Allende’s try but he was exhausted at that stage. He had spent a lot of the game turning up in wider channels to make tackles, a demanding thing to do at altitude, to say the least.
Jackson’s passing and decision-making in attack were both to a high standard. He recognised the space out in the South African defence and threw some nice skip passes to get the ball to the wing. The confidence he had in attempting tough shots at goal was key to Ireland storming into the lead by half-time.
Like Murray, some of his kicking out of hand hurt Ireland. His up-and-unders were precise for the most part, but a few of his clearance kicks in the second half didn’t find touch at times when Ireland needed to wind the clock down.
Defensively, Jackson had a mixed game. No one can question his courage or bravery and he made some important contributions without the ball, however he was inclined to go for soak tackles, which conceded yards, and he was unceremoniously bounced out of the way at by Combrinck for South Africa’s first try.
Ireland were clinical in how they took their try-scoring chances, but overall their attack didn’t function well across multiple phases. Even though they missed some tackles in the build-up to Toner’s try, South Africa’s line speed caused Ireland’s back line to stand too far behind the gain line on a few occasions.
With the midfield pairing that Joe Schmidt selected, you would have expected Ireland to cause South Africa more trouble through the middle. In theory, Stuart Olding’s footwork, incision and playmaking ability should complement Robbie Henshaw’s physicality and kicking game, but the two didn’t seem to gel together.
Olding never quite cut loose the way he has done for Ulster this season and he struggled defensively. Henshaw only got the ball into his hands twice in a meaningful way in the entire game, which isn’t anywhere near enough for one of Ireland’s best all-round attacking threats. His knee injury means Schmidt will have to make further changes.
At club level, Craig Gilroy lurks around the 10-12 channel to slice open opposition defences, but Ireland kept him stationed out on the wing on Saturday. They would have benefitted from getting the ball into his hands more often, considering how much trouble his pace and dancing feet caused the South African defence.
Andrew Trimble’s rich vein of form continued into this game. He exerted pressure on Mvovo under the high ball again and his strength in contact was beneficial to Ireland as well. He got over the gain line when brought in off his wing and he stole the ball from Morné Steyn when South Africa were on the attack in Ireland’s 22. He also counterattacked brilliantly, and his monster touch finder toward the end of the first half was a fillip for Ireland.
Jantjies’ defensive shortcomings have been evident in this series and it begs to question as to why Ireland didn’t target him more ruthlessly with their wingers. Trimble’s size would be ideal for smashing through the South African out-half and Gilroy’s running threat would cause uncertainty in his decision-making.
Jared Payne didn’t cause as much damage with ball in hand, with the South African kick-chase giving him less time and space to counterattack. His positioning, aerial ability and kick returns were exemplary. He cleared up some tricky situations when South Africa kicked in behind, but there was a bad missed tackle in the build-up to Whiteley’s try that will frustrate a player who has been one of Ireland’s defensive linchpins for so long.
Altitude definitely played a part in this game. Ireland’s players looked out on their feet in the second half, which is unusual for a team who regularly take control after striking early in the third quarter. The players who had started in Cape Town were the ones who seemed to lag the most as the clock moved towards 80 minutes.
Giving up a 19-3 halftime lead cannot be excused, even taking into account mitigating factors. There were mistakes from Ireland in the second half that could have been avoided and they would have had enough possession and territory to hang on by their fingernails for the win.
It was a significant game for both teams. South Africa went some way to restoring their wounded pride by both achieving the result and putting in a dominant second-half performance.
Ireland now must win on Saturday to pull a historic series win out of the fire. The likes of CJ Stander, Ultan Dillane and Sean Cronin should come into the matchday squad to provide much-needed bursts of energy, but going by how fatigued the core players in the staring XV are, it seems Ireland don’t have much left in the tank.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.