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 Boks drown in Irish blood bath in Durban

It was a literal blood bath at Hollywoodbets Kings Park in Durban on Saturday night as a last-second drop goal by Irish replacement flyhalf, Ciaran Frawley, stunned the Boks as Ireland came out in one piece by winning 24 - 25. 

After only 2 minutes of play, Willie le Roux was taken off for an HIA after a nasty collision with James Lowe's knee. He never returned. At the same time, Franco Mostert had to be patched up. 

Early mistakes by the Boks cost them 3 points as Jack Crowley converted the penalty given to Ireland for an offside call against the hosts. Not long after, it was the turn of Eben Etzabeth who had to be patched up. 

Throughout the game, South Africa couldn't score one try and had to rely on the boot of Handré Pollard to put them on the scoreboard. I have to say, Ireland played extremely well to restrict the hosts by not allowing them to score a single try. 

It was almost as if South Africa expected to win this game quite comfortably as they reverted to their old style of play; goalless kicks straight into the Irish hands and not committing players to the rucks. 

On the other hand, Ireland played really well and slowed the game down. I felt that South Africa disrespected Ireland in the sense that they didn't really give it their all in this game. As if they sort of just expected to win this game so, yes, I am bitterly disappointed in the Boks but credit must go to Ireland. They really performed well and showed why they are number two in the world. Even though we are playing Portugal next I still feel that the Boks will have to up their game and revert back to the Tony Brown playing style which allowed them to win against Wales and Ireland in the first test. 

I would definitely recall all the players that were sent back to play Currie Cup and give these other players a rest. 

My team vs Portugal:
1. Gerhard Steenekamp
2. Malcom Marx
3. Trevor Nyakane
4. Salmaan Moerat
5. Franco Mostert
6. Marco van Staden
7. Kwagga Smith
8. Evan Roos
9. Cobus Reinach
10. Manie Libbok
11. Kurt-Lee Arendse
12. André Esterhuizen
13. Lukhanyo Am (c)
14. Edwill van der Merwe
15. Sacha Feinber-Mngomezulu

Bomb Squad: 
16. Johan Grobbelaar
17. Ox Nche
18. Thomas du Toit
19. RG Snyman
20. Pieter-Steph du Toit
21. Jasper Wiese
22. Morné van der Berg
23. Aphelele Fassi 

I think if this team can gel together, they could really cause some damage. Although it is a very inexperienced team, it is a young team that'll be looking to put up their hands and show what they are worth. 

Boks faced a tough loss against Ireland, and there are some unanswered questions about how they will adjust their lineup and strategy for the next match against Portugal. I decided to make Lukhanyo captain on the day as I do believe he has the leadership skills having been the captain of the Sharks. 

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