Courageous Ireland performance comes up short as South Africa take first Test
First Test: South Africa 27 Ireland 20
Sport is occasionally cruel, a sentiment to which Ireland might attest after a gut-wrenching loss in Pretoria. It was a compelling encounter, elevated by some great rugby at times and full of plot twists especially in the second half, but the honours go to South Africa.
Andy Farrell’s side, courageous and resilient, scored three tries, but were left to rue a capricious bounce and a couple of decisions, undertaken with the best of intentions, that backfired. The outcome was decided in micro-moments that separated the two-time and reigning world champions from the visitors on the scoreboard.
Springbok outhalf Handrè Pollard was unusually errant off the placekicking tee and that kept Ireland in a contest that on occasion looked like disappearing out of reach, but Farrell’s charges never stopped trying. They lost debutant Jamie Osborne, a try scorer, the excellent Robbie Henshaw, and Dan Sheehan to injury.
Ireland were denied two try-scoring opportunities by the television match official Ben Whitehouse, the first that overruled an on-field decision of a try to deny James Lowe was ridiculously harsh. The second looked a more legitimate ruling in adjudicating that the outstanding Caelan Doris hadn’t grounded the ball.
Several individuals had huge games, Doris and Tadhg Beirne in particular, but ably supported by Josh van der Flier, Andrew Porter and Tadhg Furlong, while Bundee Aki’s power and Jack Crowley’s passing were important conduits to tries. Rónan Kelleher, Garry Ringrose and Ryan Baird gave the visitors momentum off the bench.
[ South Africa 27 Ireland 20: As it happened ]
Ireland fired just a single attacking salvo in the first quarter. Porter, Bundee Aki and Joe McCarthy had each carried, prodigiously winning the gainline in taking play into the South African 22 and forcing the home side into an infringement.
The visitors opted for a tap penalty five metres from the South African line but after a couple of surges that got them to within touching distance, Peter O’Mahony lost control of the ball as he stretched towards the line while simultaneously trying to duck under a tackle.
Ireland's outside center Robbie Henshaw is tackled by South Africa's hooker Bongi Mbonambi during the first Test at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria. Photograph: Marco Longari/AFP via Getty Images
The Springboks supporters rose as one, the guttural roar of acclamation an exclamation of relief but also how important the moment could prove in the context of the match. At that point the home side led 7-0, through a try from left wing Kurt-Lee Arendse, a gorgeous sidestep on Jamie Osborne the final act but created further afield.
Calvin Nash stepped in when it looked like Doris would get to Siya Kolisi to make the tackle and from that moment, good hands worked the ball to Arendse in space and he finished beautifully. Pollard kicked the conversion.
There were encouraging moments for Farrell’s side, the first two scrums on South African put-ins, they shoved the hosts backwards. Henshaw left Jesse Kriel grasping at thin air, while debutant Osborne shrugged off a couple of mistakes to show his prowess in the air.
[ South Africa 27 Ireland 20: How the Irish players rated ]
Crowley kicked a penalty to make it 7-3 but thereafter it was the Springboks that looked more likely to score. The home side looked to attack off outside centre Kriel, using him to carry or distribute, a ploy that showed the influence of new attack coach Tony Brown.
Pollard kicked a penalty on 16 minutes, the first Ireland conceded in the match when McCarthy was penalised for not rolling away at a ruck. Lowe stepped in when he shouldn’t, but Ireland were rescued by Beirne who nicked possession, a vital steal in the Irish 22.
Ireland won a scrum free kick, Doris a turnover, but little missteps, handling and decision making, cost them chances to accrue some points. On 35 minutes Ireland got the try they deserved, beautifully created with good hands and appreciation of space by the excellent Sheehan and Lowe with Osborne riding the tackle to touch down.
At 13-8 the game was beautifully poised at half-time. Ireland’s early second-half indiscipline might have been more punitive had the Springboks not elected to kick a first penalty, after Aki was penalised, to the corner. When they chose to kick at goal after Kelleher was penalised at a ruck, Pollard missed and would do so again on 58 minutes.
Ireland and South Africa compete in a scrum which led to a late penalty try for South Africa. Photograph: Marco Longari/AFP via Getty Images
In between Rassie Erasmus brought on all six forward replacements in one fell swoop on 49 minutes and on 57 minutes, Ireland looked to have drawn level in the game. Ringrose made a brilliant tackle on Kriel, Ireland counterucked, Casey put Lowe away and the left wing did brilliantly to beat Malcolm Marx and Pollard to score in the corner.
TMO Whitehouse maintained that Kelleher hooked the ball back while on the ground, even though he couldn’t possibly have seen the ball given the angle of his body; a marginal call to say the least. The try was chalked off and six minutes later, South Africa scored one of their own.
Lowe’s acrobatics to keep the ball in play from a Pollard kick to touch, had unfortunate consequences. Conor Murray - on the park to replace Craig Casey, who was taken off with a concussion - was beaten to the ball by Cheslin Kolbe, Ciarán Frawley fell over, and on foot of the calamity of mishaps, Kolbe fly-hacked the ball over the Irish line and won the race to touch it down.
Whitehouse was asked to establish whether Lowe’s foot touched the ground and decided it hadn’t and the try stood. A yellow card for Arendse pre-empted a sustained bout of Irish pressure. Doris couldn’t get the ball down to the TMO’s satisfaction but on 74 minutes, the visitors conjured a superb riposte, a training ground doozy.
Finlay Bealham put Kelleher through a gap with a superb pass and the replacement hooker sent Murray scampering over under the posts. Crowley converted but Lowe misjudged the restart, conceding a five-metre scrum, from which the Springboks demolished their opponents earning a penalty try and a card for Kelleher.
It was a tough pill for the visitors who had excelled in the set-piece earlier in the game. Ireland showed their character in fighting back, Baird’s try in the corner, closing the gap to seven points and offering a fairer reflection of the contest.
Ireland will have regrets but if the injury toll is not too severe, they will travel to Durban with legitimate expectation rather than hope if they can tidy up some aspects of their game.
SCORING SEQUENCE – 2 mins: Arendse try, Pollard con, 7-0; 11: Crowley pen, 7-3; 16: Pollard pen, 10-3; 28: Pollard pen, 13-3; 35: Osborne try, 13-8. Half-time: 13-8. 66: Kolbe try, Pollard con, 20-8; 74: Murray try, Crowley con, 20-15; 77: Penalty try, 27-15; 78: Baird try, 27-20.
SOUTH AFRICA: W le Roux (Bulls); C Kolbe (Suntory Sungoliath), J Kriel (Canon Eagles), D de Allende (Wild Knights), K-L Arendse (Bulls); H Pollard (Leicester Tigers), F de Klerk (Canon Eagles); O Nche (Sharks), B Mbonambi (Sharks), F Malherbe (Stormers); E Etzebeth (Sharks), F Mostert (Honda Heat); S Kolisi (Racing 92, capt), P-S du Toit (Toyota Verblitz), K Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs).
Replacements: M Marx (Kubota Spears) for Mbonambi, G Steenekamp (Bulls) for Nche, V Koch (Sharks) for Malherbe, S Moerat (Stormers) for Mostert, RG Snyman (Leinster) for Etzebeth, M van Staden (Bulls) for Kolisi (all 49 mins); G Williams (Sharks) (58); S Feinberg-Mngomezulu (Stormers) for Pollard (73).
Yellow card: Arendse (73 mins).
IRELAND: J Osborne (Leinster); C Nash (Munster), R Henshaw (Leinster), B Aki (Connacht), J Lowe (Leinster); J Crowley (Munster), C Casey (Munster); A Porter (Leinster), D Sheehan (Leinster), T Furlong (Leinster); T Beirne (Munster), J McCarthy (Leinster); P O’Mahony (Munster, capt), J Van der Flier (Leinster), C Doris (Leinster).
Replacements: R Kelleher (Leinster) for Sheehan, G Ringrose (Leinster) for Henshaw (both h-t); J Ryan (Leinster) for McCarthy, R Baird (Leinster) for O’Mahony, C Frawley (Leinster) for Osborne (all 49 mins); C Healy (Leinster) for Porter (49-62 and 73); F Bealham (Connacht) for Furlong (62); C Murray (Munster) for Casey (64).
Yellow card: Kelleher (76 mins).
Referee: L Pearce (England).
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