Flyhalf Jonny Sexton gave a man-of-the-match performance as Ireland upset the Springboks 29-15

by Paul Cook –

Ireland have stunned world no.2 South Africa with a comprehensive 29-15 defeat in Dublin at the weekend. A side missing 16 regular squad players, as well as getting used to life without Brian O’Driscoll, stepped up in imperious fashion to outplay, outsmart and surprisingly, outmuscle a Springboks side whose last outing was a victory over the all conquering All Blacks a month ago.

Leading only 6-3 at the break, having started brilliantly but been pegged back by Springbok resistance, Ireland went up another notch after the restart. Tries from Rhys Ruddock and Tommy Bowe complemented Jonny Sexton’s tally of 16pts as the home side dictated proceedings and it was only a last minute converted score from replacement JP Pietersen that put a more respectable spin on the result.

While the coaching team of Joe Schmidt, Les Kiss and Simon Easterby can take plenty of plaudits for their role in constructing the game plan to bring down the Boks, the execution of their players out on the field was near perfect. A pack that had to withstand huge pressure at set-piece time, the scrum in particular taking some heavy blows, tackled themselves to a standstill at the breakdown as they smashed, choked and eventually frustrated their opponents out of the game.

The fledgling centre pairing of Robbie Henshaw and Jared Payne – replacing the retired O’Driscoll and the injured Gordon D’Arcy – performed to such a level that that very fact was barely noteworthy across the 80 minutes. But it was Sexton who pulled the strings, the mercurial flyhalf giving an exhibition of game management, mixing pinpoint kicking with an aggressive and destabilising running game that had South Africa second guessing for most of the evening at Aviva Stadium.

A humble Sexton lauded the team effort at the final whistle.

“From 1 to 23 it was an absolute squad performance,” he said. “We came in with a really good game plan, we knew it was going to be a bit greasy and we wanted to just put the pressure on them. We executed pretty well, it wasn’t pretty at times but it was all about the victory today and it’s great with all the players that we were missing to pull out a victory against arguably the joint best team in the world.

“We left it behind a bit against New Zealand last year and we didn’t want it to happen again so it’s great to get the victory,” he continued. “We’re building towards the World Cup, building towards the Six Nations and it’s important to beat these Southern Hemisphere teams to give us confidence going into the World Cup.”

Willie Le Roux was the Springboks’ standout on a day when Ireland simply outplayed them

Ireland dominated the opening 15 minutes with a mixture of aggressive defence and smart kicking. Two penalties from Sexton gave them some breathing space but the Springboks fought back hard to control the second quarter, turning the screw in the set-piece as their scrum in particular began to dominate.

However, their faith in their driving lineout maul cost them a way back onto the scoreboard as a handful of kickable penalties were turned down in favour of greater reward, only for Ireland to front up and disrupt every surge.

Bizarrely, a team that has been averaging 31pts per game for the last two years took until the 38th minute to register at all, Handre Pollard finally taking the minimum points on offer but still leaving his side 6-3 adrift at the break.

Ireland’s threat became a serious one for the Springboks after the break, a terrific lineout play two minutes into the second half saw Rhys Ruddock, who was only in the starting line-up after a late withdrawal by the injured Chris Henry, burst through unseen to slide over to the bemusement of Victor Matfield and co.

The try boosted Ireland’s confidence levels significantly and sniffing blood in the water, they ramped up their defensive work, smashing South Africa back at every opportunity. Their line speed and discipline afforded very little time and space for the visitors to unleash the newfound adventure that has come to the fore in their recent matches.

Ireland’s only concern was the toll their resolute defending was taking and their brave resistance was finally broken in the 56th minute, the Springboks backing their lineout maul again and this time, coming up trumps, Marcel Coetzee driven over to make it 13-10.

Two moments of ill discipline put Ireland firmly back in the box seat. A high tackle from Duane Vermeulen allowed Sexton to add another 3pts before Adriaan Strauss – on in place of a strangely erratic Bismarck du Plessis – took Rob Kearney in the air and went to the bin.

Simon Zebo and Tommy Bowe celebrate Bowe’s match winning try in the 74th minute

With 10 minutes to go and a man advantage, the Aviva Stadium crowd got to their feet to cheer their boys home and another Sexton penalty opened up a 19-10 lead. And it is perhaps a good thing that the reborn home of Irish rugby does not include a Millennium Stadium style roof covering, as it would have most surely have been blown away in the 74th minute when Ireland scored a second try.

Sexton paved the way again, slicing the line at will and attracting a host of defenders. But when the ball was recycled back to Conor Murray, Sexton’s halves partner put up an inch perfect crossfield kick into the corner for a delighted Tommy Bowe to take in his stride, leave Bryan Habana in his wake and seal one of Ireland’s greatest ever victories.

Sexton departed to a standing ovation as his Man of the Match award was justifiably announced to the crowd. Not since another Jonny was in his pomp 12 years ago, has a European flyhalf dictated a game of such stature against such an opponent. He is fast becoming one of the true modern greats of the game.

His replacement Ian Madigan rubbed salt into the wounds with another penalty before a tired and befuddled Springboks finally concocted a try in the last minute, JP Pietersen scampering away after good work from their best on ground, Willie Le Roux. The fact that Patrick Lambie subsequently skewed a hurried conversion past the uprights just about summed up their day.

Ireland 29 (Rhys Ruddock, Tommy Bowe tries; Jonathan Sexton 2 cons, 4 pens, Ian Madigan pen) defeated South Africa 15 (Marcel Coetzee, JP Pietersen tries; Handre Pollard con, pen)