‘Fight And Character Can’t Be Looked Past’ – Crowley

James Ryan’s 20-minute red card, and sin-binnings for Sam Prendergast, Crowley himself, Andrew Porter, and Paddy McCarthy, could have seen Ireland cave in and suffer a heavy beating at the hands of the world’s number one ranked team.

Instead, Andy Farrell’s men rolled with the punches and showed immense character and grit in an eventual 24-13 defeat. They had South Africa under pressure late on, almost scoring a try which would have got it back to a one-score game.

Crowley, heavily involved as a first-half replacement, praised the Springboks as a ‘world-class side’, and while disappointed with a losing finish to the Quilter Nations Series, he said there was a lot for Ireland to take from the match.

Highlighting how they responded to Porter’s yellow card and the penalty try right on half-time, he said: “To be down to 12 men, and I know there was obviously the penalty try, but to not concede outside of that.

“The way that the forwards defended on our goal-line to get the penalty underneath the posts in the second half to clearance kick. That can’t be looked past.

“I know it might have looked like we conceded yards and they were in our 22 a lot, and then towards the last 10 minutes we released the valve and got down there.

“To be part of that group, that’s why it hurts when you do go off the field and you’re hurting the group, but to be part of a group that has such fight and character to give ourselves a chance in the last 10 minutes.

“I’m sure a lot of people watching on were probably thinking, ‘Right, this game is done’. But the belief, and the fight for one another, and how we want to represent each other because we know what work lads are putting in, what work the coaches are putting in.

“We’ve unbelievable pride to represent one another out there, those that are playing and those that aren’t.”

Crowley started at out-half against New Zealand and Japan in recent weeks, and kicked nine points in a 20-minute cameo during last Saturday’s record win over Australia. However, it was at full-back where he was mostly pressed into action against South Africa.

Replacing Tommy O’Brien, who went off for a HIA on the half-hour mark, he slotted into the full-back position with Mack Hansen reverting to the right wing.

The Munster star then briefly moved into his familiar out-half role, vacated by Prendergast who paid the price for team penalties, before his own yellow card – for cynical play at a ruck which caused Cobus Reinach to knock on – meant he was off the pitch until early in the second half.

While frustrated to get himself sin-binned just before the break, Crowley made some crucial interventions in defence, denying Kwagga Smith, Cheslin Kolbe, and Canan Moodie with some excellent covering back in difficult situations.

“Just coming in (as a replacement), you’re kind of trying to bring that energy and (I) probably went over that edge, and was a little bit desperate with trying to put on back-end pressure.

“As a result it (the yellow card) was costly and they are the things you are trying to avoid. It’s in my control to avoid that and it’s something that, yeah, frustrating for the group the impact it has.”

On how the team coped with the chaos and disruption caused by those cards and the pressure exerted by the ‘Boks, he replied: “I think it comes down to calmness. You’re present with the situation that’s at hand.

“The coaches, the key leaders in the group, how they put a clear plan in place (at half-time) and are not phased by it. That’s what you saw when the lads went out for that next 10 minutes in the second half, like there was no panic.

“It was, ‘Right, this is the situation. This is how we’re going to handle it’. I thought the fight to do that and even the smarts to deliver that, and to not back down, to not give them an inch, then actually to go and attack the game.

“Then you marry that, because it has to be married with attitude and belief. When you combine those two, you got us to keep in the fight and we were there until the end.

“It was about not sitting back and allowing them to just dictate the game. Even down to 12, you’ve still got a fighting chance and if there’s any bit of a chance, you’ll drive on.”

The 25-year-old is well used to playing against South African teams, memorably winning the BKT United Rugby Championship title with Munster against the DHL Stormers in Cape Town in May 2023.

He kicked what turned out to be the clinching penalty against South Africa in the 2023 Rugby World Cup’s pool stages, while he started twice at out-half during last year’s drawn series, scoring 19 points across the two clashes in Pretoria and Durban.

He credited the ‘Boks for how they took advantage of Ireland’s indiscipline in this latest encounter, saying: “They’re a world-class side. Big men, physical, they’ll challenge you up front, and we got what we expected from them.

“They’re a world-class side and if you do lack discipline, like we did at times, they’re going to punish you.”

The high penalty count against Farrell’s side, and their struggles to contain a dominant South African scrum, leaves them with plenty to work on heading into the 2026 Guinness Men’s Six Nations, which kicks off with a trip to France on Thursday, February 5.

2026 is shaping up to be a massive year of Test rugby, particularly with the new addition of the Nations Championship, as the countdown continues to the next World Cup in Australia.

There will be three Six Nations fixtures held at the Aviva Stadium, including the visits of Wales and Scotland in March’s last two rounds, and the Nations Championship will start next July before ramping again in November when Ireland host Argentina, Fiji, and South Africa.

Hailing the home support in Dublin across the last three weekends, Crowley admitted: “You know the atmosphere out there, the crowd was unbelievable. They were right behind us.

“I’d like to think that they could see the fight in us, that we weren’t backing down, that we were representing something greater than ourselves, and we wanted to show that and we also wanted to win.

“We wanted to (win), we believed we could, and to be a part of a group that fights that way and fights for one another and doesn’t back down, I’m grateful to be part of that group.”