Donal Lenihan: Springbok scrum strategy was about more than just punishing Ireland

I can sympathise with what Ireland's pack experienced against South African. It’s humiliating to be part of a scrum which is being dismantled.

Ireland's analysts and scrum coach will be poring over video from the defeat to South Africa trying to figure out how the Springboks put so much pressure on the Irish pack. Pic: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

This Springbok pack love nothing more than smashing the opposition up front, especially at scrum time. They not only see it as an invaluable tool for generating penalties, enabling them to control field position from the subsequent kicks to touch, they view it as a means of breaking the mental resolve of opponents.

- Irish Examiner 21/11/2025