Ireland creak but don't crack — and know they have better to come

It was more street fight than spectacle as Andy Farrell's men again proved they don't just know how to win — they know how not to lose too

MOMENT IN TIME: Ireland’s Johnny Sexton celebrates winning at the full-time whistle. Pic: INPHO/Dan Sheridan

Eight minutes after the break in Saint-Denis and the eyes were somehow dislodged from the impossibly tense and tight game unfolding on the pitch to a line of white, marble intent that had made its way from the Springbok bench and up to the advertising hoardings.

A quick count brought their number to three, not the seven forwards that clocked in at roughly the same point of proceedings against the All Blacks at Twickenham last month, but all roads had still been leading to this very junction since the Boks revealed their 7/1 split.

Like in London, the new men had a scrum to see to first. Kwagga Smith is no giant but Jean Kleyn and RG Snyman are among the heaviest humans in the 66 named for this thunderous World Cup Pool B and the impact was immediate and devastating.

The Irish scrum collapsed backwards as Faf de Klerk released the ball from the mayhem and within seconds Cheslin Kolbe was crossing the Irish line unopposed. It looked to be a massive moment. The bogeyman was real. There actually were beasts under your bed.

It wasn’t the only time in either half that Ireland creaked under the might of a powerful South African side but they never cracked or caved. This was never going to turn into a horror show for a side with 15-straight wins on their belt.

This is too good a team that is too used to winning - and finding ways not to lose - to collapse under that pressure and, anyway, it was a game where errors were forced on both sides by the sheer physicality of the struggle. This was a street fight not a spectacle.

That Ireland held on, defending one last Bok push in their own 22 as the clock turned red, is a thing of fascination. They only scored 13 points here and their lineout malfunctioned time and again and yet here they are. Make no mistake, this is Ireland's biggest win in World Cup history. The hope is that it loses that status pretty quickly.

It wasn't all their own work. For all their bravery and belligerence, they’ll know that they have their opponents to thank for yet another awful night in front of goal with Manie Libbok and Faf de Klerk combining to miss four kicks on goal and 11 points.

They have at least been consistent in one sense given the Springboks missed a first quartet against Scotland in Marseille and another in the win over Romania. It was no shock to see the cameraman pick Handre Pollard out at one point during all this.

That’s twice now that the Boks have effectively let Ireland off the hook. The Ireland win in Dublin last November was banked with just three points to spare after another wayward display off the tee by Damian Willemse who left seven points behind him.

These Boks aren’t done here yet and, with Pollard destined to be drawn deeper into the roster as this tournament drags on, it would be foolish to think that the world champions would be of a mind to be so generous a third time on the trot.

They have thumbed their noses at convention by using four scrum-halves in one game, selecting just the one out-half in their original squad and picking flankers as auxiliary hookers but some basics never change in this sport and they of all people should have known that.

Ireland have one foot in the quarter-finals now. Beat Scotland in two weeks at this same venue and they will top the pool and avoid France in the quarter-finals and they will clock off now for a well earned rest knowing they haven’t actually played their best yet.

What a thought.