During the build-up to the second Test between South Africa and Ireland in Durban’s Kings Park this Saturday, which will be broadcasted live on Sky Sports Action, communication out of the Ireland camp has primarily revolved around self-improvement. The first Test defeat was a sharp departure from the expected performance levels of the Irish players, and an in-depth evaluation has laid bare the root causes of this failure, highlighting both mental and physical errors.
The away team might have been unlucky with some of the decisions but they didn’t take easy shelter in that fact. A noticeable lack of intensity in the opening half infiltrated both the attacking and defending plays. The resulting deficiency in focus, dialogue, and implementation tainted the team’s initial resolve.
Saturday will be Caelan Doris’s second stint as the Irish captain, and he shed light on the detailed steps taken towards recovery. He shared: “A crucial meeting on Wednesday led us to watch few clips that were rather disappointing as they didn’t represent our prolific performances over the recent years. Some of our basic elements, like collective work ethics and mutual support during the game, were missing. The muted response to some positive moves from the opponents was unlike us.
“These findings sparked a slight sense of pain and increasing frustration that fuelled our desire to rectify things immediately. We followed up the meeting with a highly constructive training session where I noticed a newfound determination in the team. In our discussions, we emphasised maintaining our composed attitude, and sticking to our unique style of play. The challenge lies in finding the perfect equilibrium between calmness and an aggressive edge.”
Irish coach Andy Faloon and his backroom staff have decided to persist with the same backline chosen for the match with Australia. Upcoming star Jack Crowley has shown promising signs of becoming Ireland’s main man. The Irish squad will have to rediscover their usual zest and precision in the upcoming game.
The Irish rugby team have shown impressive prowess up front, though their ability to rally from behind leaves something to be desired, evident in their losses before setting foot in South Africa. Their loss of command in Pretoria did not bode well. However, a more strategic approach could have altered the results. The damage from their most recent loss drove their choice of team members. Fortuitously, they count Garry Ringrose, Conor Murray, Rónan Kelleher, and James Ryan amongst their ranks. These players have proven their high-level aptitude in previous matches. Tadhg Beirne’s role as a blindside flanker guarantees consistency, especially with regards to lineout calls. They need to harness more from this area of play as they failed to hit the mark against the Springboks in Pretoria, despite an exemplary maul defence.
At the start, their scrum performance was commendable, securing two penalties and a free kick, but this was disrupted by the entrance of the Springboks’ ‘bomb squad’, who exerted enough pressure to gain a penalty try.
The confrontations around the breakdown provided some benefit for the Irish, causing South African scrumhalf Faf de Klerk to falter. However, the protection of Irish possession will necessitate increased speed and accuracy. It’s not solely up to Murray to establish or uphold the rapid pace crucial to Ireland’s offensive strategies. The message is clear – engage, participate, and keep the momentum. The number on the jersey is inconsequential.
Andrew Porter and Tadhg Furlong played crucial roles and are expected to make significant contributions in the upcoming Saturday match. The Irish ball handlers must adopt a different approach to evade the South African double attack; careful footwork, handing off passes, and keeping the ball away from the edges of the breakdown area will make the play less physically taxing.
Kick precision is paramount. Whether it involves box-kicking, cross-kicks, punts or grubber kicks, thoughtfulness and context are imperative. James Lowe’s strength during physical confrontations and his offload skills provided a significant advantage. Murray’s try, executed flawlessly, was indeed sights for sore eyes.
Ireland faces the formidable task of boosting their proactiveness with regard to ball possession, player depth, run lines, speed, and tactical kicks in an attempt to infiltrate the robust defence strategy of South Africa, led by Jerry Flannery.
In South Africa’s tactics, Jesse Kriel plays a dual role as both a playmaker and bulwark, while Siya Kolisi and Pieter-Steph du Toit infiltrate wider areas of the field. Number eight, Kwagga Smith, has diverse roles to clean the ruck, provide support, or handle stale balls. Backs coach, Tony Smith, is expected to unravel more strategies for his team’s offence.
Taking a closer look at last week’s South African tries, only one by Kurt-Lee Arendse could be regarded as a creative manoeuvre. Despite having superior speed on the edges, the host team may rely more heavily on their force this week, whilst improving their utilization of turnover balls resulting from a more aggressive defensive strategy.
While Andy Farrell’s Irish squad has demonstrated an ability to adapt and revive their game plan within a week it could be more testing without the services of several key players including two of their finest who did not tour. It is crucial that everything discussed both publicly and privately during the week translates into tangible action on the field.
Achieving such a feat will require the shared efforts of all 23 team members. Although South Africa emerges as the bigger favourite than last week with nine points, if Ireland can successfully harness their energy and precision from their prime test match days and maintain balance in the officiating, they could shock everyone but themselves and emerge victorious.
South Africa’s key players include W le Roux (Bulls); C Kolbe (Suntory Sungoliath), J Kriel (Canon Eagles), D de Allende (Wild Knights), K-L Arendse (Bulls); H Pollard (Leicester Tigers), F de Klerk (Canon Eagles); O Nche (Sharks), B Mbonambi (Sharks), F Malherbe (Stormers); E Etzebeth (Sharks), F Mostert (Honda Heat); S Kolisi (Racing 92, capt), P-S du Toit (Toyota Verblitz), K Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs).
Substitutes for the game include M Marx from Kubota Spears, G Steenekamp of Bulls, V Koch of Sharks, S Moerat of Stormers, RG Snyman of Leinster, M van Staden who is with Bulls, G Williams of Sharks and S Feinberg-Mngomezulu of Stormers.
When it comes to Ireland, the line up is as follows: J Osborne (Leinster); C Nash (Munster), G Ringrose (Leinster), R Henshaw (Leinster), J Lowe (Leinster); J Crowley (Munster), C Murray (Munster); A Porter (Leinster), D Sheehan (Leinster), T Furlong (Leinster); J McCarthy (Leinster), J Ryan (Leinster); T Beirne (Munster), J Van der Flier (Leinster), C Doris (Leinster, captain).
Their bench includes R Herring (Ulster), C Healy (Leinster), F Bealham (Connacht), R Baird (Leinster), P O’Mahony (Munster), C Blade (Connacht), C Frawley (Leinster) S McCloskey (Ulster). The match official is K Dickson from England.