It took them 7 years, but Amabokoboko finally get one over the Irish
It is the start of the international season. It is Number one up against number two in the world. It is the Irish up against "Hulle weet nie wat ons weet nie". This series has been much spoken about ever since the Boks lost to the very same opposition at last year's World Cup.
So much has changed since that game at RWC 2023. Jaques Nienaber has moved to Ireland, Duane Vermeulen retired and has occupied a similar role to the one that Rassie has held since 2018. The only key difference here, is, Vermeulen will be working with two other coaches as they form the "mobile coaching team" or something like that....
This basically means that they will be doing Rassie's job as supposed Director of Rugby. This job includes having a firm grip over the transformation or progression of rugby at all levels. This allows Rassie to focus solely on his duties as head coach.
Anyway, let's get into the game, shall we?
Rassie picked possibly his strongest team to date, which boasts just over 900 caps. 20 of the 23 players played in last year's final. First up was a brilliant try scored by Kurt-Lee Arendse after some exceptional interplay between backs and forwards, coast to coast. In the end it was a two-on-one scenario which allowed Arendse to go over for the first points.
The first 20 minutes of the game was quite fast paced as the score was already at 10 - 3 after 19 minutes. The influence of Tony Brown has been quite visible these past two weeks as they (the Boks) are not afraid to run the ball from anywhere on the field.
Let's talk about the Bongi penalty. Now, for those of you who might not understand why he was penalised in the 30th minute.... YOU ARE NOT ALONE! So Bongi was penalised for not using his feet to drive the player away I believe the terms used by Mr. Ben O'Keefe was "You need to be on your feet to ruck. Not crawling through". So according to Mr. Ben, Bongi was not on his feet when he tried to clean out the player at the ruck, which was WRONG, because he was in a low body position to drive the player away and just nearly lost his footing and tried to carry on. A penalty kick, by the way, that Jack Crowly missed.
A few seconds later and South Africa are penalised once again, this time it was Jesse Kriel who was pinned for being "offside" which I do not agree with at all because Kriel was showing his hands as he was making his way back to the defence line. From that penalty Ireland finally got the ball moving and scored a try through debutant and full back, Jamie Osborne. 3 minutes before half time, South Africa got a penalty after Irish Loosehead Prop, Andrew Porter went pass the ruck to clean out Faf de Klerk.
10 minutes into the second half and Rassie has already sent on his "Bomb Squad". Almost immediately Marx gets a crucial turnover. A huge turnover by Ireland a sneaky little pass to Jamse Lowe on the short side by Craig Casey allowed Low to get past Malcom Marx and Handre Pollard to go over for Ireland's second try. Unfortunately, after careful review the try was CANCELLED. It was revealed that Kelleher, the replacement hooker played the ball on the ground which you are not allowed to do. A third penalty miss for Pollard. A let off for both teams.
The best moment of the game came after a penalty kick for touch by Pollard was kept in play by James Lowe only to be chased down by Speedy Gonzales, I mean, Cheslin Kolbe, and getting South Africa's second try. A sneaky little pass on the inside ensured Conor Murray of an easy run-in try under the sticks to set the score at 20 - 15 with 5 minutes left on the clock.
The Springboks made full use of their bomb squad and powering over the line with a solid scrum to earn a penalty try. Ireland simply refused to lie down and scored a brilliant try through replacement Ryan Beard off a pass by James Lowe in contact. The kick was missed, and the score remained at 27 - 20 at full time.
In my personal opinion, both teams played exceptionally well. Ireland, though they had so many injured payers, really played well and kept up with the pace set by the Boks. This coming Saturday we go again at KINGS PARK in Durban, and you can me for damn sure that Ireland will be looking to get a victory. Once again, South Africa showed why they are Number one in the world.
Since Rassie has already announced his team for this coming Saturday, yesterday, I am not going to get into the team selection. What I will say, is, that, I would not have kept it unchanged. Yes, I understand we are here to win games, but at least put in one or two new guys in just to keep that element of surprise. That is just my opinion. It will be interesting to see how Andy Farrell will shuffle his pack with the list of unavailable players on Ireland's side.
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