By Lucky Vince Pienaar
There is no doubt that the early loss of Willie le Roux had a major impact on the game in Durban on Saturday.
The disruption was made worse when Eben Etzebeth went on and off a few times, with blood streaming down his face, making him look like a war hero. But whatever it was, the Boks seemed somewhat hysterical as they tried to increase the pace.
If they were trying to beat Ireland at their own game, it didn’t work.
“You earn the right to go wide” has been a part of South African rugby for more than a century. Sending the ball down the backline from the first line-out is all good and well, but by chasing the other team’s forwards from one sideline to the other, you also make your forwards chase after the ball.
Has the idea of dominating through the forwards been abandoned? It has not worked if the Tony Brown-influence means we are now trying to win by playing wide.
To win, you either have to do things differently, as the Boks have done through two World Cups, or you have to do the same thing better than the other team. If you simply match them, it becomes a coin toss. And the coin flip favoured Ireland when Ciarán Frawley slotted the winning drop goal.
Handré Pollard had a great day with the boot, but should the Springboks have trusted their forwards and gone for the maul-try when they were right in front of the posts? In the last few minutes, the Boks stopped attacking and tried to defend a two-point lead, and it cost them the match.
And what about Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu? Is he not yet ready to be South Africa’s number one flyhalf?
South Africa (0 tries) 24-25 (1 try) Ireland
SA tries: None
Ireland tries: Conner Murray
➤ At Eden Park, the All Blacks and England should be happy with their rugby.
Scott Robertson is clearly on track to shake off the effects of Ian Foster’s lacklustre legacy, and the team is shaping up to be the fearful force of old. It was awesome, unstoppable All-Black rugby when Beauden Barrett came off the bench.
It’s taken a while, but under coach Steve Borthwick, England is slowly but surely again taking its place as a top international team.
New Zealand vs England
All Black tries: Mark Telera (2)
England tries: Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Tommy Freeman
➤ Australia was clearly dominant against Wales. While Joe Schmidt is clearly whipping the Wallabies into shape, Wales still struggles and will continue to struggle. Coach Warren Gatland is doing his best, but he is up against a management that doesn’t seem to help the Welsh Dragons in any way.
Australia (4 tries) 36-28 (4 tries) Wales
➤ When France is ready to lose, nothing can stop them. Argentina scored four tries and a penalty try and France, after a good start, stopped playing early in the second half. Why the French team endlessly tests the loyalty of their supporters, nobody knows.
Argentina (5 tries) 33-25 (3 tries) France
Pictured above: The Springboks suffered defeat against Ireland.
Source: Springboks/X
