A reminder: This was only a pool match (albeit a seismic one)
JOB DONE - FOR NOW: The Ireland team applaud the fans after the final whistle in the Rugby World Cup 2023, Pool B match at the Stade de France. Pic: PA
For anyone who thought they had just watched a World Cup final at Stade de France on Saturday night, the Ireland camp provided a timely reminder Sunday there is so much more road left to travel in this tournament before any champagne corks are popped.
Such an enthralling and intensely physical contest as this was worthy of a World Cup decider, particularly given the ear-splitting atmosphere generated by a 78,542 crowd dominated by Irish green jerseys as their heroes beat defending champions South Africa in epic fashion.
Yet this was only a pool match.
Significant, yes, having pitted the top two-ranked teams in the world against one another in Pool B thanks to a lop-sided draw that also sees Scotland in the mix for quarter-final qualification. But still only a pool match.
Ireland may remain unbeaten at this tournament and on top of those World Rugby rankings having extended their winning streak to 16 Test matches yet a place in the last eight and another tilt at reaching a first semi-final at the 10th attempt is still not guaranteed. A final pool match against the Scots in Paris in 12 days will determine that and though the Irish need only a point to make the quarter-finals, a win will ensure they progress on top of the standings.
As those vast hordes of Irish supporters who had roared the words to the Cranberries’ Zombie at full time departed the stadium to continue their rapturous celebrations in central Paris, the Irish management and senior players alike emphasised that there is much more hard work ahead and plenty of lessons still to be learned before they will be truly satisfied.
Defence coach Simon Easterby echoed captain Johnny Sexton’s eloquent sentiments about the bounce the Irish fans had given the team and the gratitude felt from inside the camp towards the travelling army before issuing the reality check.
“You’ve got to make sure you enjoy these occasions but the support was incredible and those of us who were lucky enough to be at the stadium will remember that type of support for a long time,” Easterby said. “The games will get tougher and we need to make sure that there’s things in the game that we did tonight that we could be better at, lots of good things in the game, lots of things that we did really well.
“But there’s certainly room for improvement and I think that’s the measure of this squad is that we prepared the team well, the players who didn’t get the chance to get involved prepared the team well and that will be the case leading into Scotland as well.”
Ireland’s greatest World Cup pool victory, against a defending champion still at the peak of its powers, should not be underestimated. Yet with potentially four more cliff-faces to scale in order to reach the mountain top, Easterby described beating the Springboks as “another stepping stone” to add to past heroics from an enviable body of work compiled over the past 24 months.
“There’s probably now a good list of things that we’ve done over the last couple of seasons and that’s another one. We’ve beaten South Africa in the World Cup for the first time, beaten the world champions. We did it in Dublin (last November) but to beat them on neutral ground is something very special.
“There’s a few things that have gone on over the last couple of seasons that give the guys confidence and trust in what we’re doing. This is another stepping stone I guess towards what we all want to try to achieve over the next couple of weeks and we’re genuinely feeling that we can get better, and we need to get better as the competition goes on.”
That Ireland did not put together a complete performance but overcame the power and pressure piled on top of them at early-set-piece encounters and thrown at them via lightning quick Springbok linespeed to problem-solve on the hoof and eventually turn the tables was a huge statement from this team.
Andy Farrell praised his side’s resilience as the hallmark of the victory, secured by pinpoint responses to South African scores. Mack Hansen’s 33rd-minute try, converted by Sexton, wiped out an early Manie Libbok penalty, and the captain’s 58th-minute penalty pushed Ireland back into a 10-8 lead following Cheslin Kolbe’s try eight minutes later. And in between there were four missed kicks at goals from Jacques Nienaber’s team, a conversion and penalty from Libbok and two long-range penalties from Faf de Klerk.
What is more, Ireland defused the expanded South African ‘Bomb Squad’ of seven forward replacements and just one back with a more balanced and effective 5-3 bench.
It was, however, Ireland’s ferocious yet accurate breakdown work that delivered this victory.
“That’s the one area where Ireland were exceptional tonight,” Nienaber said. “That’s probably one of the biggest reasons we didn’t get over the line. We were overpowered at our own attacking breakdown and lost ball close to their tryline.”
None of which will allow the Ireland brains trust to rest easy during this coming calm ahead of a non-match weekend. Stormy seas undoubtedly lie ahead and Farrell and his team will work hard on those improvements. Yet for all the missteps they spotted at the weekend, the way Sexton and company negotiated this tempest one can only marvel at how an even more effective Ireland could be at this World Cup.
H Keenan; M Hansen, G Ringrose (R Henshaw, 22-32 HIA, and 64), B Aki, J Lowe; J Sexton (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 (M van Staden, 52), P-S du Toit, J Wiese (K Smith, 47).
Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand).
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