Andrew Trimble: Ireland showing street smarts

In the face of criticism from Springboks coach Allister Coetzee that Ireland “weren’t interested in playing rugby”, Andrew Trimble has proclaimed pride in his team’s streetwise victory against the odds.

Ireland overcame the dismissal of CJ Stander after 23 minutes and saw out 10 minutes with only 13 men to beat South Africa 26-20 in Saturday’s thrilling first Test at Newlands in Cape Town.

Coetzee yesterday betrayed frustration at Ireland’s playing style. He congratulated their work ethic but acknowledged his side had played too much like a Super Rugby team and added of Ireland: “They weren’t interested in playing. All they did was make it as difficult as possible for us to exit, they just put it in behind us, turn us and we were actually bogged down in our own 22.

“They got a drop goal and a chip try and it was a very clever tactic.

“I don’t think we handled it well but I think we will be better this week.”

Reacting to the jibe, Ireland wing Trimble, for whom part of the Newlands rearguard was standing in for flanker Stander at scrum-time, said: “You’ve got 14 men on the pitch, it’s difficult. We put on one or two plays we had prepared before the game and then roles change and it’s very difficult to organise things when you’ve got a wing and a flank and then you’ve got no flank.

“It is very difficult, it’s tough to play as much rugby as you would have liked to have played. I think we were very clever in what we did, we were very streetwise.

“I think we showed a lot of experience being able to play the game with 14 men for 60 minutes. We’re very proud of what we did. We produced a big performance and maybe surprised ourselves as much as South Africa. I’m sure we had their respect. We had a good result in Dublin not so long ago as well (in 2014) so I think they know we’re capable of producing big performances. I don’t think anybody, not even us, realised how big a defensive performance we would be able to produce with 14 men. There’s maybe a little bit of a surprise element there but that’s going to be gone for this weekend, so looking forward to it.”

Coetzee is convinced his side will improve for Saturday’s second Test but not before yesterday’s video review, which he said would leave Springboks “embarrassed” by the opportunities they failed to take.

“We need to work on our execution, the big positive for me was the amount of opportunities we created,” the coach said.

“When we do the review, the players will be embarrassed to see that that’s what happened and that we couldn’t convert.

“Our conversion rate in the Irish ‘22 was terrible. It’s not to the standard of the Springboks and we know that, but it’s something that we really can get right.”

Coetzee’s decision to call up Stade Francais’ Morne Steyn as a fly-half replacement for the unavailable Pat Lambie, concussed by the collision for which Stander saw red, was an immediate indication that the Springboks will revert to a less expansive game at Ellis Park this weekend.

“As a group we were tactically off colour. The pressure of Test rugby is probably what forced old habits to come up and the old habit is probably a Super Rugby approach — let’s have a crack, let’s have a go. Hopefully, we can learn from this.”

Trimble said Ireland, and in particular the back three of which he is a part, would certainly be preparing for the South African gameplan to tighten up.

“I think that’s something we can deal with and the challenge for next weekend is going to be Morne Steyn with his kicking game, certainly from my point of view as a winger, as a back three, there’s going to be a little bit more of the backfield to cover because he’s so good at putting the ball in behind and finding space.

“We’re going to have to do as much homework this week as we did last week.”

Ireland are braced for a backlash from the Boks but despite creating history with a first Test victory in South Africa last Saturday, they also have the further objective of joining only a handful of teams by winning a series here.

“Yes we do,” Trimble agreed, “but other sides have struggled to do it. There’s a reason why they’ve struggled because it is really difficult to do and for us to go out there again we need to produce another massive performance.

“Physically, we need to be switched on, mentally we need to be switched on.

“Last week’s gone now. We enjoyed getting a few pats on the back but we’ve got another job to do. It’s exciting to be in a position to create another bit of history.”