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No talk of revenge, but margins remain slim as Boks prepare for brutal showdown against Ireland

No talk of revenge, but margins remain slim as Boks prepare for brutal showdown against Ireland
Bok captain Siya Kolisi breaks with the ball during a World Cup match against Ireland in France last year. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
Craig Ray
By Craig Ray
5 Jul 2024
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The time for talking is almost over. The Springboks and Ireland finally meet in the most anticipated series in the rugby world this July.

In the wake of the Springboks’ dramatic run of three one-point wins in the knockout stages to win the Rugby World Cup last year, it’s largely been forgotten what an exceptional game of rugby was played a few weeks earlier.

The Pool B clash between Ireland and the Springboks, which was effectively a decider to top the group, was a gripping clash of the highest quality.

In the glow of winning the title, it’s easy to dismiss the pool match, which Ireland won 13-8, as a bump in the round. It wasn’t fatal to the Boks’ campaign, and despite losing the battle on the day, the Boks won the war.

But in isolation, the contest between the two sides on that warm Parisian evening, was sporting theatre at its finest. 

Two teams, if not at the pinnacle of their game, then very close to it, playing in front a wonderful 78,000 crowd – largely Irish – were from another planet at times.

Some might argue, but in pure rugby terms it was the best game of the tournament. The only missing ingredient was the jeopardy of losing. There was still a tomorrow, for the loser. Yet both teams played as if it was a knockout.

Yes, the Boks’ 29-28 win over France in the quarterfinal was a sublime game as well, especially the first 40 minutes, and yes, Ireland’s 28-24 loss to New Zealand in the quarters was also fantastic. They both had the drama of the agony and ecstasy for the losers and winners.

But for pure, sustained brilliance over 80 minutes, the Pool B clash delivered rugby of an exceptional standard between the two sides that were then, like now, No 1 and 2 in the world.

No revenge


It’s that memory, that contest, which both teams will be drawing from when they have a rematch at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

The Boks have played down the narrative that it’s about revenge, and Ireland have dismissed the notion that it’s about them proving they should have won the World Cup or be No 1 in the world. 

Both approaches ring true, because this is a new game, in a different climate, at a different venue, with new objectives for the next three years as they build towards RWC 2027 in Australia. 

Not that Bok coach Rassie Erasmus missed the chance to suggest that was going to be Ireland’s motivation.

“From their side, they may have unfinished business in terms of getting the N0 1 spot,” Erasmus said this week.

“However, we don’t talk like that. We analyse players, have chats on how they performed in the United Rugby Championship and the European competitions, from which we pick our teams accordingly in terms of how those players could do the job for us.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Erasmus and Farrell in each other’s heads as Loftus showdown looms

“We train really hard, and we try to stay in our reality, which is that we’re playing at home against a team that’s beaten us, with all the games being close.

“They deserved all of those games, but it’s not a case of us having a score to settle. I’d rather take two World Cups and the British & Irish Lions series rather than the three losses.”

Yet, that game showed both sides that there is nothing to choose between them. It was played in a good spirit, too, and even though some Irish players told some Boks “see you in the final”, it was almost certainly meant as a compliment.

Even Bok lock Eben Etzebeth, who said on a recent podcast that he felt it was a presumptuous statement by Irish players, has softened his opinion this week.

“We’ll never, after a game, tell them we’ll see them in the final,” Etzebeth told the media this week. “There’s a lot of rugby that still needs to be played, and maybe that was their way to say we’re a good side, and we may make it all the way to the final.”

Points of difference


The margins were miniscule in Paris 10 months ago, but there were a few areas where some improvements could make a difference.

For the Boks, goal-kicking let them down that day with Manie Libbok and Faf de Klerk missing four kicks at goal – 11 possible points in all – between them.

Handré Pollard is back at flyhalf for the Boks this week. He was the literal point of difference in the semifinal and final of RWC 2023, and another 90% plus kicking day for the sharpshooter could be the difference at Loftus.

Read more in Daily Maverick: I’m just a rank-and-file Bok, not an on-field team general, says Handré Pollard

Naturally, Pollard wasn’t drawn into criticising his own teammates retrospectively about the kicking issues. The pivot preferred to pick out the positive aspects of that performance.

“The goalkicking is the goalkicking, which is a separate aspect of the game,” Pollard said this week. “I thought the boys played very well that day; it was just unfortunate we didn’t convert all our opportunities. We created a lot and didn’t take those chances to put them away, so credit to them, they’re a great side. It’s not a scar. I think we should take confidence out of that because we were so close that day and we’re back home now.”

Bok captain Siya Kolisi breaks with the ball during a World Cup match against Ireland in France last year. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)



Another aspect the Boks will have to tidy up is discipline. At Stade de France they conceded 11 penalties to Ireland’s eight. Those are margins that define tight games.

From an Ireland perspective, they lost their first four line-outs of that contest and also conceded an early scrum penalty and free kick from the set piece.

They got away with it then, but it’s unlikely they will win at Loftus if their set piece stutters like that again.

“I suppose we’re probably coming up against the best defensive line-out in the world,” Ireland lock Tadhg Beirne said. “They’ve shown that multiple times over the last couple of years.

“They have big men across their whole team, it’s a big focus for us. I don’t think any of the line-out callings during the World Cup were poor, it’s just that they defended well. Again, it’s just another area we need to be completely dialled in on for Saturday.”

Ireland coach Andy Farrell selected the talented but untested Jamie Osborne at fullback for a Test debut. He’s out of position, usually playing centre for Leinster, while Farrell also opted for Munster scrumhalf Craig Casey to start over veteran Conor Murray. Casey brings snappier service and will keep the tempo high.

“He (Osborne) suits the way we play, he’s bright, he gets himself on the ball a lot in an organising way,” Farrell said. “His communication is very good and accurate, he has nice soft hands and he can hit a line as well. To add to that, he’s deceptively very quick, good in the air, very athletic and he's got a big left boot on him as well.

“Craig (Casey) will see this as his big opportunity,” Farrell said. “He deserves it, he deserves the challenge to start a Test match like this and we’re looking forward to seeing how he drives the team forward.” DM

Teams

South Africa

15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Kwagga Smith, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche.

Reserves: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Salmaan Moerat, 20 RG Snyman, 21 Marco van Staden, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu

Ireland

15 Jamie Osborne; 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe; 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Craig Casey; 8 Caelan Doris, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Peter O'Mahony (captain); 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 Joe McCarthy; 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter

Reserves: 16 Ronan Kelleher, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 James Ryan, 20 Ryan Baird, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Ciaran Frawley, 23 Garry Ringrose.

Kick-off: 5pm (Supersport).

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