Second half tries from late call-up Rhys Ruddock and the returning Tommy Bowe, allied to a superb man-of-the-match showing from Jonathan Sexton, steered Ireland to a memorable 29-15 GUINNESS Series triumph over South Africa.
Brilliant execution of two training ground moves saw Rhys Ruddock raid through from a 42nd minute lineout maul, while Tommy Bowe – back from an injury-enforced absence – gathered an inch-perfect Conor Murray kick to go over in the right corner with eight minutes left.
Out-half Jonathan Sexton was again Ireland’s driving force, directing operations alongside Murray at half-back and he finished the game with a perfect six kicks from six attempts for 16 points (two conversions and four penalties).
But, undoubtedly, the most effective aspect of Ireland’s play on the night was their supremely organised defence – dubbed ‘awesome’ afterwards by Heyneke Meyer – which held the abrasive Springboks at bay time and again.
The tourists did manage to score two tries, a maul effort by Marcell Coetzee that cut Ireland’s lead to 13-10 midway through the second half and a late consolation score from replacement winger JP Pietersen.
However, Joe Schmidt’s men, who put in 143 tackles in a display of sustained intensity, responded with two Sexton penalties and Bowe struck while Adriaan Strauss was in the sin-bin to effectively seal the result.
The Irish bench was emptied late on and replacement out-half Ian Madigan nailed a cracking long range penalty before Pietersen’s try brought a typically bruising encounter between these nations to a close.
The South Africans, sitting second in the world rankings, came into this game high on confidence after beating the All Blacks 27-25 in the Rugby Championship.
Ireland began the 2014 GUINNESS Series with a number of notable absentees, their injury list stretching to double figures and a viral illness saw flanker Chris Henry withdraw from the team this morning with Ruddock replacing him.
But the Six Nations champions had prepared well and that was obvious from the early exchanges, a spell of smart kicking giving the white-shirted hosts the territorial edge.
Jack McGrath gained an advantage over Jannie du Plessis to win a scrum penalty which Sexton converted to put Ireland in front by the 10-minute mark.
South African full-back Willie le Roux was their best attacker, running hard lines particularly in the first half, and a lineout steal by Eben Etzebeth led to a period of pressure near the Irish try-line. Francois Hougaard lose control of possession, though, and Sexton hacked downfield to lift the siege.
McGrath was penalised for going off his feet at a 17th minute ruck, but Handre Pollard – the 20-year-old out-half – sent his first shot at the posts to the left and wide.
Another pleasing feature of the opening quarter for Ireland was Rob Kearney’s high-fielding skills and he grew in influence with some clever lines of running in attack.
At the opposite end, le Roux did the likewise and one such counter from a Murray box kick brought the ‘Boks into scoring range again. It took a strong tackle by Bowe on Duane Vermeulen to stem the tide.
Ireland responded with a well-executed lineout maul and quick ball put Kearney cruising through a midfield gap with Sexton stretching his legs to race up to the South African 22. The out-half dusted himself off to fire over the resulting 24th minute penalty and make it 6-0.
South Africa upped the ante in the scrum for the remaining 15 minutes of the half. A big initial shove won a penalty, although they opted to go to touch and this was the plot that Meyer’s side stuck to.
Ireland’s maul defence was solid, however, with Devin Toner particularly effective and individual errors from Hougaard and Bismarck du Plessis allowed the hosts to clear their lines.
However, Toner’s palming back of a cross-field kick straight to Etzebeth and a lineout infringement by Mike Ross – a rare error on a night of huge graft from the Corkman – invited the ‘Boks forward once more and it took some more disciplined defending from Ireland to keep their line intact.
Captain Paul O’Connell dived on a loose ball that he felt had squirted free from a South African ruck, but referee Romain Poite ruled otherwise and the 38th minute penalty was sent through the posts by Pollard.
6-3 is how it stayed up to half-time, the suffocating nature of both defences coming into play as Ireland coughed up possession at a late lineout and flanker Teboho Mohoje knocked on soon after.
There was a growing sense around the Aviva Stadium that Ireland’s increasing defensive workload and South Africa’s superiority in the scrum could become deciding factors in the second period.
But the home side burst out of the traps on the resumption, with Bowe soaring to claim his own kick and then Robbie Henshaw, who partnered debutant Jared Payne in the centre, increased his influence with a brilliant kick towards the left corner that forced le Roux to concede a close-in lineout.
Toner took down Sean Cronin’s throw and with the South African defence caught off-guard, Ruddock burst clean through the middle of the maul to score his first international try. Sexton swept over the conversion for a 13-3 advantage.
Loosehead McGrath, who put in a big shift around the pitch with 17 tackles made, did well to win a penalty decision at the breakdown but there was further concern for the Irish scrum as South Africa shoved them off their own ball in the 52nd minute.
Sexton stepped in to tackle le Roux as the Springboks spread the ball wide and Ireland seemed to be wobbling a little as McGrath leaked another scrum penalty. The place-kick was declined and the ‘Boks duly crashed over the whitewash from the subsequent lineout maul with flanker Coetzee the scorer.
Pollard converted to reduce the arrears to three points and the ‘Boks kept their foot on the gas with Adriaan Strauss, who was joined on the pitch by his cousin Richardt, winning a penalty as Kearney lacked support.
But solid Irish defending earned them a penalty and they slowed down the tempo, edging back over the South African 10-metre line with strong carries from Payne and Jamie Heaslip. The number 8 was hit with a high tackle by Vermeulen and Sexton coolly slotted the 63rd minute penalty for a 16-10 scoreline.
Ireland’s excellent defence was in evidence again when O’Connell and Henshaw combined in a tackle that led to a South African knock-on. Then, in a key moment, Adriaan Strauss stretched out an arm to tackle Kearney in the air and Poite, after consulting TMO Jim Yuille, sent the replacement hooker to the sin-bin.
A fantastic touchfinder from Sexton pinned the ‘Boks back five metres from the line, with number 8 Vermeulen having to throw in at the lineout.
Ruddock manages to poach the ball in contact, sparking a frantic set of carries from O’Connell and company. The end-product was Sexton’s fourth successful penalty.
The errors continued to come for South Africa as le Roux knocked on near his 10-metre line. Sexton took the ball on following a scrum and Murray’s brilliant dink suddenly exploited the space in behind Habana, with Bowe reaching the bouncing ball ahead of the Toulon star to gleefully gobble up his 27th try for Ireland.
That was a real knockout blow and Sexton drew his conversion inside the right hand post to stretch his side’s lead to 26-10, putting them on course for a record win over the ‘Boks.
A number of personnel changes followed as Schmidt emptied the bench, with props Dave Kilcoyne and Rodney Ah You, lock Mike McCarthy, out-half Madigan, full-back Felix Jones all joining fellow replacements Strauss and Tommy O’Donnell on the pitch.
There was no drop-off in accuracy and intensity as good positioning by Jones won a ruck penalty, and with Schalk Burger’s side-entry at an advancing Irish maul resulted in Madigan tagging on three sweetly-struck points.
Eoin Reddan had to enter the fray for Payne, who hobbled off with a suspected foot sprain, and South Africa had the final say as le Roux was involved in creating the opening for Pietersen’s 80th-minute effort. Pat Lambie miscued the quickly-taken conversion and Ireland could celebrate what turned out to a very satisfying win – their fourth in the last six meetings with the ‘Boks.
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