‘Bomb squad flexed their muscles’: How the media reacted to South Africa’s win over Ireland
After all the prematch mind games played before a ball was kicked in Loftus Versfeld, the headlines after the Springboks win over Ireland focused on the way the match ended in a try-scoring blitz and an Irish team that never sat down. South Africa were also celebrated for breaking their three-match losing streak, some of it grudging.
‘World champions Springboks triumph over gutsy Ireland,” said MSM, while Rugbypass.com pointed to the six Springbok forwards who came into the match 10 minutes into the second half to see home South Africa’s advantage.
The bench has been an ever-present subject of conversation since Rassie Erasmus went for a 7-1 split during the World Cup last year.
“Bomb Squad flex muscles as South Africa grind out win over Ireland,” said their headline.
Generally, the views ranged from a runaway match with the Central News South Africa (CNSA) upbeat. “Springboks Triumph in Thrilling Test against Ireland with a 27-20 Victory,” it said.
The writer emphasised the drama of a finish that delivered three tries in around four minutes. The sequence went 74 minutes Conor Murray try, Jack Crowley conversion, 20-15; 77 minutes Penalty try to South Africa, 27-15; 78 minutes Ryan Baird try, 27-20.
“In a match that kept all 50,066 spectators in Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria on the edge of their seats, the Springboks emerged victorious with a pulsating and drama-filled 27-20 win against Ireland,” said CNSA.
The BBC were more sober “World champions South Africa edge Ireland in first Test,” read their headline. They were not alone in adding the historical context to the win in their opening paragraph.
“The Test between the top two sides in the world rankings was edged by the World Champions who beat Ireland for a first time in eight years,” it said.
The Guardian used the same word “pulsating” in their headline with “South Africa hold firm to seal narrow win over Ireland in pulsating first Test” adding that James Lowe seemed to be involved in several things of significant consequence during the match.
Their opening line: “The Ireland wing James Lowe went from hero to zero as the world champions, South Africa, underlined their status as Test rugby’s top-ranked nation with a gripping 27-20 win in Pretoria.”
The South African trumpeted “Springboks win Loftus thriller over Ireland after controversial moments galore,” adding that it was a It was a tight and tense affair “but the Springboks came through in the clutch to beat Ireland 27-20 at Loftus to ensure they stay No 1.”
The Telegraph obviously enjoyed the way the match unfolded and looked forward to next week’s second offering, when the sides move to Kings Park in Durban for the deciding match.
“South Africa confirm status as world’s best with narrow victory over Ireland in thunderous clash,” said the Telegraph headline with the opening line looking ahead to more of the same.
“After all the talk, it lived up to the hype. And the good news is we only have to wait a week for the sequel in Durban,” said their reporter, Ben Coles.
The South Africa Rugby Union (SARU) were to the point on their website’s match report as well as alliterative in their headline with “Boks bury Ireland Bogey at Loftus.” There was also a backhanded compliment to the Irish team in their opening line as well as a lack of total satisfaction about how the home side got it over the line.
“The Boks held a 13-8 lead at the break and apart from a dominating opening 30 minutes, it was not the smoothest win ever, but a seven-point margin over the second ranked team in the world is not something to sniff at,” said the author.
After a match like that Andy Farrell will take any compliment.
Number: 8
The number of years South Africa has waited to win against Ireland, their last one before Saturday coming in 2016 in the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth where they won 19-13.
South Africa's wing Cheslin Kolbe celebrates scoring his team's second try. Photograph: Marco Longari/AFP via Getty
New Zealand almost undone by new law
The All Blacks were almost undone by England on Saturday morning (Irish time) by a law that was only introduced on Jan 1st, 2023. It happened at the end of the Test match in the Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin with New Zealand leading 16-15.
In fact, there was less than two minutes of normal time remaining when a penalty was awarded to the home side and outhalf Damian McKenzie stepped up to take it in the hope of extending the All Blacks lead to four points.
But McKenzie went through his routine and waited and waited ... until the referee stepped in and awarded a scrum to England. The law introduced in 2023 refers to time limits.
Law 8.21 Penalty Kick: The kick must be taken within 60 seconds (playing time) from the time the team indicated their intention to do so, even if the ball rolls over and must be placed again. Sanction: Kick is disallowed, and a scrum is awarded.
England won a penalty from the scrum and kicked into the All-Black half to the 10-metre line for a lineout just as the end of match hooter sounded. They secured the ball and went through the phases pushing for a winning score.
Fullback George Furbank finally went to ground with New Zealand piling in over the ball and England conceded a turnover penalty. Game over. But what a different outcome it could have been all because of a dawdling All Black kicker.
Quote
“We haven’t beaten them since 2016, so it was special for our confidence. But the job is not done yet. We want to win the series and we know they are going to come back harder,” Springbok captain Siya Kolisi promising that South Africa won’t be happy until they stick Irish noses in the dirt again in Durban.
