Sport at the highest level is as much about reacting to defeat as it is about winning. And the Springboks have some reacting to do and we all have some reflecting to do because Ireland are a superb team.
Saturday’s 25-24 loss against Ireland was a setback for the Boks but it hardly constitutes a crisis. Ireland were brilliant in the first half; the Boks equally brilliant in the second, with the game ultimately decided by an act of sheer audacity by a man not even the most ardent of Irish fans would’ve picked to be their unlikely hero.
Flyhalf Ciarán Frawley, who has played at fullback and centre and is the definition of a fringe player in the squad, stepped up. Two brilliantly taken drop-goals, the second, the match-winning kick, was an ugly, wobbly strike. But it went straight and true, like a bullet through the Boks’ hearts.
“Well, let’s go through it,” said Ireland coach Andy Farrell. “He [Frawley] kicked a ball out on the full, with a cross-field kick. To get his composure back [was tough?] and then we delivered the play.
“[Centre] Stu McCloskey does unbelievably well to take the
space and roll the ball and tackle someone into touch to put pressure where it needed to be at the end of a Test match like that.
“But you still need guts. Ciarán had the guts in the first place to do the
first drop-goal and I thought it was immense how he had the courage to
take it early, so fair play to him.”
Naturally, and perhaps understandably, the reaction to the defeat from South African fans has veered from “Ireland deserved it; bad luck, Boks,” to “The Boks are useless and players X, Y and Z were to blame.” We don’t need to find scapegoats.
As the Springboks’ head coach, Rassie Erasmus, said after the match, sometimes balance is needed. Occasionally the opponents must be acknowledged for their excellence and their part in a memorable sporting occasion.
“If they miss the drop-goal we’d all be sitting smiling, saying what a good comeback it was. Ireland deserved to win,” said Erasmus.
That’s not to be mistaken with the notion that the coach doesn’t care, or that there aren’t issues to address in the coming days and weeks. Tactics might have to be rethought and players cross-examined in the team’s analysis on Monday. That happens anyway — win or lose.
But this is sport. There has never been a perfect performance, ever. The Boks were second-best in the first half and best in the second half. They overcame a 16-6 deficit to lead 24-19 with 10 minutes to play.
Supreme battle
It was a supreme battle between two excellent sides which oscillated one way and then the other. If you’ve ever watched a high-quality boxing bout between two great fighters, it hardly ever occurs without both pugilists being hurt and in trouble at some stage. You have to take punches to land punches.
The Boks were down and out at halftime, trailing by 10 points with fullback Willie le Roux and lock Franco Mostert both injured in the opening exchanges of the match. The world champions were on the rack and staring at the prospect of a heavy loss.
Erasmus lamented that losing Le Roux in the third minute robbed the Boks of their major attacking brain. As well as the raw Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu did with some surging runs, Erasmus said the Boks’ attacking structure did not function optimally without Le Roux.
It wasn’t a complaint; it was stated as fact. And Erasmus knows that as the coach and the chief selector, that is on him. He needs to find a new Le Roux and in a perfect world, Feinberg-Mngomezulu would’ve come on at a more opportune moment. But that’s sport.
Farrell, unhappy with his team’s first Test performance, read them the Riot Act last Wednesday. By all accounts, it was a blunt exchange with him telling the team they needed to be better because they are better. And most crucially, he knew the Boks would be better too.
Farrell had the courage to throw on the inexperienced Frawley and halfback partner Caolin Blade in the last 15 minutes despite good performances from Crowley and Conor Murray. It was a coach’s sense of trusting his gut because of what he’d seen in training in the weeks the squad had been together. It paid off.
Before that, Ireland bossed territory and possession with their smart tactical kicking game and they delivered more intensity in contact than a week earlier at Loftus when they started slowly and lost 27-20.
It was a role reversal this time.
Now this is where the nuance comes in. Yes, the Boks ultimately lost the Test in dramatic circumstances, but from the huge hole they found themselves in, they manufactured a remarkable comeback.
Could they have done things differently in the first half? Probably. But Ireland would say the same about their second-half performance.
Manic intensity
From the whistle to start the second half, it was obvious that whatever Erasmus said at halftime — and it wouldn’t have been allowed in polite company — worked.
There was a near-manic intensity as the Boks thundered into contact. They were angry. It showed with every clean and with every carry. Ireland had woken the beast and the Boks unleashed it.
The intensity was incredible and Ireland started creaking. Forced to do anything to stop the Boks’ momentum they cleverly infringed at the breakdown. Giving away penalties was the lesser of the two evils, compared to allowing the Boks to build momentum with wave after wave of attacks.
The fact that they stopped the Boks from scoring a try in that manic 30 minutes after halftime said a lot about Ireland as a team. They defended with the accuracy that stems from great coaching and hard work, but fuelled by desperation and a desire to end their season on a high.
Five straight penalties to start the second half went the Boks’ way and flyhalf Handré Pollard landed all of them. Gradually chipping away at the deficit, the Boks finally went in front in the 56th minute after a surging break by lock RG Snyman and a strong run from Kwagga Smith.
But for all their intensity and muscle after halftime, Ireland aren’t a team that has been at the top, or near the top, of the game for the past four years without reason.
They were brilliant on defence, never losing their shape completely. They have some amazing warriors, from the astounding captain and No 8 Caelan Doris to the ever-dangerous wing James Lowe.
The Boks showed incredible guts and resilience to fight back, but as well as they did, Ireland showed remarkable composure.
No other team, in the face of that second-half onslaught by the Boks on their home turf, would have lived with them. Ireland did — just — through tenacity and skill, and because they had built enough of a cushion in the first half.
Proud record
Ireland hadn’t lost back-to-back Tests in more than three years coming into Durban, and they defended that record with a performance for the ages. Because that’s what it takes to beat the Boks.
“As far as drama and the pressure we put on ourselves to perform, it's right up there [with Ireland’s best wins] because they're a wonderful team, a magnificent team,” said Ireland coach Farrell.
“There were two good sides going at it. Our set-piece was pretty good at times, but in the second half we gave away some possession ourselves.
“That’s what happens at the top level, but how we found a way was the main point. I actually don’t care who is the best in the world. These are two good sides and you wouldn’t want to separate them.
“It is what it is … you can add three or four more countries into that. I actually think world rugby’s in a good spot, because of that competition.”
That’s what this was. A match between two of the best sides, if not the two best sides, in the world. It asked everything of the players for those 80 minutes.
There were mistakes and amazing feats. There were heroes and villains and yes, there was a winner and a loser.
But this is sport, there is always a winner and a loser. Luckily for the Boks, there is also next week and many weeks following that. DM