Ireland beat Boks on penalties

Schalk Burger © Gallo Images

Ireland maintained their home dominance over South Africa by beating the Springboks 15-10 in their rugby test match played at Croke Park in Dublin on Saturday.

Blow-by-blow scoring:

The Springboks, who last won in the Emerald Isle in 2000, gave a tired, lethargic and unfocussed performance; scoring the only try of the game through Schalk Burger but being knocked back by five penalties from Ireland’s new flyhalf Jonathan Sexton.

The Boks, on a high as the world champions, victors over the British and Irish Lions and winners of the Tri-Nations, had a chance to also lower the colours of the Six Nations champions but just could not bring to bear the necessary energy and team-work as they stumbled to a tour record of played five, lost four.

In bitterly cold conditions with clammy mist at times descending so low that the players were almost hidden from view the Springboks suffered a blow on match day when Bakkies Botha was forced to cry off because of the back injury he has been suffering with.

In spite of the weather, however, the Springboks made a promising start as their transformed scrum won a clear ascendancy -- at the ironic cost of their normally supreme lineout where Paul O’Connell and Donncha O’Callaghan were able to put them under pressure and disrupt their throws.

Although Sexton drew first blood for the Irish with a penalty one had the impression that the Boks had the measure of the home-side and would push on to victory.

This view was confirmed when the tourists scored a well-worked try in the 15th minute as the hit-up was made on the right and the ball then quickly transferred to the left where Jaque Fourie popped the ball up to Schalk Burger crashing through on a straight line.

Morné Steyn, who had missed an earlier drop attempt, slotted the conversion but the flyhalf’s fairytale season would turn sour as he missed four penalty attempts (plus there was another by Ruan Pienaar) in his most hesitant performance of the season.

The Irish, efficiently maintaining the ball through multiple phases like most northern hemisphere sides, were not making much headway other than a strong break by the always dangerous Brian O’Driscoll and some probing running by fullback Rob Kearney who was arguably the man of the match with the way he punished the Boks for constantly trying the high kick.

The Boks were being asked to make more tackles but they were coping well and when Steyn kicked a drop in the 23rd minute (10-3) the smattering of South African in the stands must have been looking forward to a night on the craic in the city’s many bars.

However the little errors and lack of discipline were seeping into the play of the Springboks as assuredly as the fog was making their fingers numb with cold.

Sexton kicked his second penalty (6-10) in the 29th minute but the incidents, missed opportunities poor discipline and decision making, which would account for eventual defeat were starting to mount.

Steyn missed a penalty attempt in the 38th minute, tried another from deep in his own half two minutes later because time was up but could not get the carry and then failed again in the 43rd minute.

A successful kick might have made all the difference and it was the fired-up Irish who began to sense that it might be their day.

Touch judge Carlo Damasco of Italy intervened to point out to referee Nigel Owens that Steyn had made a high tackle on O’Driscoll and Sexton made it 9-10; then Andries Bekker was caught by the other TJ Chris White foolishly kneeing David Wallace in the back and Sexton gave the Irish the lead in the 51st minute.

As often happens when the momentum shifts the 50/50 calls were starting to go against the Boks and they played into the hands of the Irish with too much bad kicking, too little chasing, too little support of the ball carrier and allowing themselves to play too much of the game deep inside their own half.

Sexton made it 15-10 in the 65th minute and, in truth, it might have been worse for the Boks because the Irish kicker pushed two other attempts and they were lucky to escape unpunished when in one move JP Pietersen high-tackled Tommy Bowe and Tendai Mtawarira got in the way of a pass as he was dropping back to defend.

The Bok management sent on Ruan Pienaar in a clear signal that the decision had made to go over to carrying the ball but instead he continued to hoof the ball away.

The Springboks tried hard to pull it out of the fire with a try but the Irish had the luxury of knowing that a penalty wouldn’t do and could therefore ride the off-side line while, frankly, the Boks just did not have the depth or variation to break through.

Mtawarira came desperately close as he drove for the line in the right-hand corner. The Boks were in possession as the clock ran down but it all ended in typical fashion when Jaque Fourie was penalised for holding on while waiting for support.

It was a Test the Boks could, and probably should have won but in the end they just did not have the gumption to coax anything more out of tired legs and tired minds, thus sending strong message to administrators that with the Rugby World Cup in 2011 it would be sensible to cancel next year’s northern excursion.

Scorers:
Ireland - Penalties: Jonathan Sexton (5)
South Africa - Try: Schalk Burger. Conversion: Morne Steyn. Dropped goal: Steyn.

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