Steely Ireland hold nerve in a Paris classic to knock off the Boks
TOP OF THE WORLD: Ireland players Bundee Aki and Josh van der Flier of Ireland, red scrum cap, lead the celebrations after winning the 2023 Rugby World Cup Pool B match between South Africa and Ireland at Stade de France in Paris, France. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
Ireland overcame pool rivals and defending champions South Africa in a gripping World Cup contest at Stade de France on Saturday, putting them in the driving seat for top spot in Pool B with one game remaining in two weeks’ time.
As expected it was a hard-fought, bone-crunching win between the top two teams in the world rankings, Ireland’s superiority in the standings confirmed in Paris thanks to a first-half try from Mack Hansen, a conversion and penalty from captain Johnny Sexton and a late penalty from his replacement Jack Crowley, all of which negated a Cheslin Kolbe try and Mani Libbok penalty.
South Africa will rue the 11 points they left unscored off the kicking tee as Libbok missed a very gettable penalty and wide conversion while Faf de Klerk was off target with two long-range kicks from inside his own half.
Yet this was a deserved victory for Andy Farrell’s Grand Slam winners, their 16th consecutive Test win and second over the Springboks inside 10 months. It also gives them 14 points from three games in Pool B, five points clear of South Africa in the table after three rounds with next opponents and Six Nations rivals Scotland having only played once with zero points ahead of their meeting with Tonga on Sunday.
Ireland had created plenty of early opportunities, only for lineout problems and a brilliant South African set-piece defence to undermine their efforts. The first came after Cheslin Kolbe conceded a lineout inside his own 22 from the kick-off, only for second-row team-mate Franco Mostert to steal Ronan Kelleher’s throw. Ireland regained the ball shortly and then won another penalty with captain Sexton kicking to the corner in a big statement of intent on two minutes, only for Pieter-Steph du Toit to rescue his side with an aerial poach.
The Springboks were edging scrum-time and the physical battle in general and their fly-half Libbok kicked them into a fifth-minute 3-0 lead off the tee. The world champions were all over Ireland in possession, their lightning line-speed harassing ball carriers into mistakes.
Garry Ringrose was removed for a Head Injury Assessment after a big collision with Damian de Allende and though he would return to play soon after, the feeling was that Andy Farrell’s side were being bullied as Eben Etzebeth pressured scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park into a sliced box kick that travelled just five metres.
Yet Ireland weathered the storm and took a 7-3 lead into half-time of a pulsating encounter, finally executing at lineout time and launching off a five-metre throw to the delight of a very loud and large contingent of supporters in the 79,542 crowd.
The ball was moved left to right as Ireland patiently built through the phases before a trademark Sexton wraparound move unsettled defenders and bought some space for Gibson-Park to recycle, moving the ball further right of the posts to James Lowe, who then launched to fellow wing Hansen on the touchline for a simple run in.
Sexton delivered the wide conversion and Ireland moved in front, though it was a far-from-comfortable interval lead.
Though Springbok scrum-half Faf de Klerk hit the crossbar with an early second-half penalty from inside his own half, South Africa did not have to wait much longer to take the lead after Bundee Aki was penalised for sealing off at a ruck on the Irish five-metre line. Captain Siya Kolisi once again opted to take a scrum and earned a penalty advantage from the set-piece but it was not required as Libbok launched a huge pass to the left wing where Kolbe was waiting with a clear run to the try line. The fly-half missed the conversion and his kicking was off again four minutes later with a more straightforward kick that drifted wide while de Klerk was off target with another long-range penalty from inside his own half.
The missed kicks would come back to bite the world champions when Ireland turned the tables on them at the scrum, the most significant coming on South Africa’s five-metre line as O’Keeffe, for the second time in five minutes, went in favour of the Irish front row at an unstable set-piece.
Jack Crowley, on for Sexton four minutes earlier, kicked his side into a 13-8 lead on 76 minutes and the pressure fell back on Springbok shoulders.
There was one more chance for the Boks, a penalty kicked to the right corner in the final minute and when the subsequent maul collapsed, the referee’s arm went to the Irish once again and the full time whistle followed shortly after.
Ireland’s supporters and players alike leapt for joy, the stadium erupting into the Cranberries’ Zombie, no need for the music as the green-shirted fans screamed “In Your Head” into the Parisian air.
H Keenan; M Hansen, G Ringrose (R Henshaw, 22-32 – HIA & 64), B Aki, J Lowe; J Sexton – captain (J Crowley, 73), J Gibson-Park (C Murray, 65); A Porter (D Kilcoyne, 74), R Kelleher (D Sheehan, 52), T Furlongo (F Bealham, 64); T Beirne, J Ryan (I Henderson, 52); P O’Mahony (R Baird, 64), J van der Flier, C Doris.
D Willemse; K-L Arendse, J Kriel, D de Allende, C Kolbe; M Libbok, F de Klerk (C Reinach, 74); S Kitshoff (O Nche, 47), B Mbonambi (D Fourie, 64), F Malherbe (T Nyakane, 62); E Etzebeth (RG Snyman, 47), F Mostert (J Kleyn, 47); S Kolisi – captain (M van Staden, 52), P-S du Toit, J Wiese (K Smith, 47).
Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
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