South Africa edged past Ireland 27-20 in a thrilling first Test in Pretoria. Acknowledging the ruthlessness of sports now and then, the Irish team could testify following a disheartening defeat, despite delivering an exceptional game full of twists and turns, especially in the second half. However, it was the South Africans who walked away with the victory.
The Irish team, led by Andy Farrell, showcased courage and tenacity, although they regretted some unfortunate turns and a few decisions, made in good faith, that didn’t pan out as intended. The match was determined by crucial moments that tipped the balance in favour of the two-time and current world champions, away from the visitors on the scoreboard.
Springbok’s fly-half Handrè Pollard, uncharacteristically missed several opportunities from the kicking tee, keeping the Irish team in the game even when it appeared to slip away. The Irish team remained undeterred, although injuries sidelined Jamie Osborne, Robbie Henshaw, and Dan Sheehan.
The television match official, Ben Whitehouse, disputed Ireland’s prospects of scoring two tries. The initial decision to invalidate James Lowe’s attempt was unfairly severe. Subsequently, a more justified call was made to rule out Caelan Doris’s try for not grounding the ball.
Several players stood out, including Doris and Tadhg Beirne, with significant contributions from Josh van der Flier, Andrew Porter, and Tadhg Furlong. Additionally, Bundee Aki’s strength and Jack Crowley’s delivery were vital factors for the tries, with Rónan Kelleher, Garry Ringrose, and Ryan Baird providing added momentum coming off the bench.
Despite intensifying their offence in the first quarter, Ireland only managed to secure an attacking shot. Porter, Aki and Joe McCarthy all made successful line-breakings to manoeuvre into the South African 22 and compelled the home team to commit a foul. The visitors, on approaching five metres from the South African goal line, chose a tap penalty. After a series of attempts that almost saw them get over the line, Peter O’Mahony fumbled when stretching to score while simultaneously evading a tackle.
The Springboks’ followers spontaneously stood to their feet, the deep cheer of approval expressing both relief and anticipation of how significant that occurrence could be for the game’s overall outcome. The home team was leading 7-0 at that time, thanks to a brilliant try from left-wing Kurt-Lee Arendse. The beautiful finishing sidestep on Jamie Osborne being the final act, but it was built up from elsewhere on the field.
Calvin Nash made an intervention just as it seemed like Doris was going to tackle Siya Kolisi. From that point, skillful ball handling opened up space for Arendse to score. The conversion was delivered by Pollard.
There were some positive instances for Farrell’s team, their first two scrums on South African introductions, pushing their hosts back. Henshaw evaded Jesse Kriel, while newbie Osborne disregarded initial errors to demonstrate his skills in the air.
Crowley kicked a penalty making the score 7-3, but from then on, the Springboks seemed the more probable to add to their total. The home team’s offensive strategy revolved around outside centre Kriel, using him as a carrier or distributer. This tactic demonstrated new attack coach Tony Brown’s impact.
Pollard scored a penalty at the 16th minute, Ireland’s first violation of the game when McCarthy was penalised for failing to roll away from a ruck. Lowe made an unwarranted intervention, but Beirne secured possession for Ireland – a crucial retrieval at Ireland’s 22.
Despite victories such as a scrum free kick and a turnover by Doris, minor stumbles and poor decision-making robbed Ireland of scoring opportunities. They eventually landed a deserved try at the 35th minute, cleverly executed by the brilliant Sheehan and Lowe, while Osborne tackled to touchdown.
With a scoreboard reading 13-8 at the break, the match was incredibly balanced. Ireland’s indiscipline in the early moments of the second half could have cost them dearly if the Springboks had not opted to kick a penalty after Aki’s violation. However, when they decided to kick at goal after Kelleher was penalised at a ruck, Pollard missed the kick, and would unfortunately do so again at the 58th minute.
Erasmus decided to introduce all six of his forward substitutions in one sweeping change at the 49-minute mark. Within minutes, Ireland appeared to have equalised. Ringrose initiated a successful tackle on Kriel, leaving the way open for a counter-ruck by Ireland. Lowe was nicely positioned by Casey and demonstrated exceptional skill to out-run Marx and Pollard, scoring a try in the corner.
However, Whitehouse, the TMO, argued Kelleher had unlawfully retrieved the ball whilst grounded, despite the fact it doesn’t seem feasible he could have seen the ball owing to his body angle — a questionable call to be sure. The try was annulled and shortly after, South Africa tallied a try of their own.
A now infamous moment came in the game when Lowe’s efforts in keeping the ball in play from a Pollard kick inadvertently had adverse effects. The ball was seized by Kolbe before Murray had a chance, leading to a series of unfortunate events. Frawley found himself on the ground, and amidst this chaos, Kolbe deftly kicked the ball over the Irish line and was the first to touch it down.
Whitehouse confirmed that Lowe’s foot hadn’t hit the ground, making the try legitimate. After a yellow card was shown to Arendse, Ireland maintained consistent pressure. At 74 minutes, the visitors responded with a stellar manoeuvre, skillfully rehearsed. Bealham set Kelleher up with an impressive pass, allowing the substituted hooker to send Murray sprinting towards the posts under the mast. Despite Crowley’s successful conversion, Lowe had a lapse during the restart, leading to a five-metre scrum. The Springboks took advantage of this, earning a penalty try and a card for Kelleher.
It was a bitter pill for the visitors, who had previously shone in the set-piece. However, Ireland’s resilience was apparent as they rallied back, with Baird managing to score in the corner and reducing the deficit to seven points – a more equal representation of the match.
Ireland will have reservations with the outcome, but assuming the injury toll isn’t significant, they’ll be heading to Durban on the back of legitimate expectations as opposed to mere hope if they can fine-tune some areas of their game.
The match points were as follows: Arendse gave the first try at two minutes and was converted by Pollard making the score 7-0. Eleven minutes in, Crowley scored a penalty turning the score to 7-3. Pollard then scored two consecutive penalties at the 16th and 28th minutes shifting the score to 10-3 and 13-3 respectively. The 35th minute saw an Osborne try making the half-time score 13-8. The sixty-sixth minute was marked by a Kolbe try, converted by Pollard, and the scoreboard read 20-8. A Murray try and a Crowley conversion at the 74th minute made the score 20-15. The game saw a penalty try at 77 minutes and a Baird try at the 78th minute taking the score to 27-15 and 27-20 respectively.
The South African team consisted of W le Roux, C Kolbe, J Kriel, D de Allende, K-L Arendse, H Pollard, F de Klerk, O Nche, B Mbonambi, F Malherbe, E Etzebeth, F Mostert, S Kolisi (captain), P-S du Toit and K Smith. M Marx, G Steenekamp, V Koch, S Moerat, RG Snyman, M van Staden, G Williams, and S Feinberg-Mngomezulu were brought in as replacements. Arendse was given a yellow card at 73 minutes.
In Ireland, the rugby team included J Osborne from Leinster, C Nash from Munster, R Henshaw from Leinster, B Aki from Connacht, and J Lowe from Leinster. Other players were J Crowley and C Casey from Munster, and A Porter, D Sheehan, and T Furlong from Leinster. T Beirne from Munster, J McCarthy, P O’Mahony, J Van der Flier, and C Doris, who was the captain, all represented Leinster.
Substitutes during the game included R Kelleher for Sheehan and G Ringrose for Henshaw, both at half time. After 49 minutes, J Ryan for McCarthy, R Baird for O’Mahony, and C Frawley for Osborne also attended the game. Additionally, C Healy replaced Porter between 49-62 minutes and at minute 73. F Bealham replaced Furlong at the 62nd minute, and C Murray was substituted for Casey at 64 minutes.
A yellow card was given out to Kelleher at the 76th minute. The match was overseen by referee L Pearce from England.