Well, what can you say? A monumental upset, arguably Joe Schmidt’s finest hour as a coach, and one of the great Irish performances of the professional era. South Africa weren’t that bad, but Schmidt had done his homework and then some, and when asked to put in the effort his team responded beyond what any could have hoped for. The defensive effort was superb, and the tactical precision, spearheaded by a terrific Jonny Sexton, was out of the top drawer.
The selfless commitment of Ireland was evident early, as they swarmed into the South African attackers and put the pressure on at every tackle situation. Struggling to get forward momentum, the Springboks resorted to a kicking game that very nearly paid off early. They dominated the lineout, with Oupa Mohoje and Victor Matfield getting up in front of the Irish jumpers, but failed to take advantage with little errors creeping in from the increasing temperature.
South Africa found an unlikely nemesis within their own ranks. Francois Hougaard had a dreadful match, making at least a half-dozen errors, fumbling the ball forwards and throwing numerous passes into the dirt. Continuity improved markedly when Cobus Reinach replaced him on 56 minutes, but by then the damage was done. Hougaard has been a tenuous selection for some time, and with both Fourie du Preez and Ruan Pienaar out injured there’s a case to be made that there was no other option, but surely Reinach must start for the remainder of this tour.
A major South African weapon was scuttled by standing off and not allowing the rolling maul to form. It caught the Springboks off-guard and as Ireland tidied up their own lineout, a try scored by Rhys Ruddock – a game day stand-in for Chris Henry – from a scattered maul just inside the start of the second half proved the decisive act of the game. The Aviva roared with approval and the confidence in the Irish shoulders was there for all to see.
The scrum went in a slightly different direction. Jack McGrath got the early nudge on Jannie du Plessis, but as the game wore on the South African turned the tide. A huge drive scored one against and eventually led to a try for Marcell Coetze, who went over in a textbook catch and drive, this time too close to the line to risk the spoiling tactic.
Still the Irish kept their composure. Sexton plugged the corners and bossed the game with consummate professionalism, even under the spectre of livewire fullback Willie le Roux, far and away South Africa’s most potent attacker on the day. A penalty kick edged Ireland further in front, and then a careless challenge from Adriaan Strauss on an airborne Rob Kearney earned the reserve hooker a seat on the naughty chair, and from there the goose was cooked.
Conor Murray put Tommy Bowe over with a lovely chip over the top to seal the deal, and when Sexton’s conversion put them three scores up the crowd erupted, knowing the job was done. J.P. Pietersen skipped over as the reserves spilled onto the pitch but it was a meaningless score, and Romain Poite saw no need for the restart.
The whole of Ireland will be beaming with the result, and Temple Bar must have been drowning in rapture on Saturday night. With only 10 months until the World Cup kicks off the win could not have come at a better time to inject some belief into the post-BOD era. Georgia pose a decidedly less intimidating challenge this week, but Australia await on the other side and if Schmidt can find a way to solve that puzzle as well, it will make for a wonderful lead up into the Six Nations.
IRELAND 29 vs 15 SOUTH AFRICA
Saturday, November 8, 17:30 GMT, Dublin
SCORING
09 mins – J. Sexton pen 3-0
23 mins – J. Sexton pen 6-0
38 mins – H. Pollard pen 6-3
42 mins – R. Ruddock try 11-3
43 mins – J. Sexton con 13-3
57 mins – M. Coetzee try 13-8
57 mins – H. Pollard con 13-10
63 mins – J. Sexton pen 16-10
71 mins – J. Sexton pen 19-10
73 mins – T. Bowe try 24-10
74 mins – J. Sexton con 26-10
78 mins – I. Madigan pen 29-10
79 mins – J. P. Pietersen try 29-15
CARDS
66 mins – A. Strauss yellow (foul play)
IRELAND
R. Kearney (F. Jones 74); T. Bowe, J. Payne (E. Reddan 78), R. Henshaw, S. Zebo; J. Sexton (I. Madigan 74), C. Murray; J. McGrath (D. Kilcoyne 74), S. Cronin (R. Strauss 58), M. Ross (R. Ah You 74); D. Toner (M. McCarthy 74), P. O’Connell (capt.); P. O’Mahony (T. O’Donnell 71), R. Ruddock, J. Heaslip.
SOUTH AFRICA
W. le Roux; C. Hendricks (J.P. Pietersen), J. Serfontein, J. de Villiers (capt.), B. Habana; H. Pollard (P. Lambie 67), F. Hougaard (C. Reinach 56); T. Mtawarira (T. Nyakane 67), B. du Plessis (A. Strauss 51), J. du Plessis (C. Oosthuizen 71); E. Etzebeth (B. Botha 64), V. Matfield; M. Coetzee (B. du Plessis 72-76), T. Mohoje (S. Burger 47), D. Vermeulen.
Referee: R. Poite (FFR)
Assistants: M. Raynal (FFR) & A. Ruiz (FFR)
TMO: J. Yuille (SRU)
