Ireland showed great heart and stamina to overcome a woeful lineout performance and defeat South Africa 13-8 in a mammoth Rugby World Cup Pool B clash in Paris.
A try from wing Mack Hansen, five points via the boot of skipper Johnny Sexton and three from replacement Jack Crowley was enough to guide Ireland to an intense and gripping victory at Stade de France, as they managed to succeed despite an attacking lineout which lost six deliveries.
South Africa scored through a Cheslin Kolbe try and single Manie Libbok penalty, but the latter and Faf de Klerk missed four further efforts to add points off the tee.
While the Irish lineout was dominated on the whole, the scrum crucially went toe-to-toe with the Springboks and their controversial 7-1 replacements bench selection, while their breakdown work proved exceptional.
Ireland were physical from the off, with hooker Ronan Kelleher dominating Damian Willemse in contact, and Kolbe knocking on into touch out wide. From the resulting lineout, Franco Mostert stole Ireland’s first big chance, though.
On three minutes, Ireland had a chance to take the lead through a routine penalty after South Africa prop Steven Kitshoff illegally slowed ball at the breakdown, but Sexton and co surprisingly chose to kick to the corner – the wrong call when the Boks pack, through Pieter-Steph du Toit this time, stole a second lineout in as many minutes.
A cruel bounce then afforded wing Kurt-Lee Arendse the chance to get to a loose De Klerk clearance kick before James Lowe, offloading to centre Jesse Kriel, and but for outstanding defence from Garry Ringrose, Ireland would have found themselves conceding the first try.
As it was, Ireland’s Peter O’Mahony was soon penalised for going off feet at a breakdown in the 22, with Libbok able to kick South Africa into a 3-0 lead in the sixth minute.
Manie Libbok kicked the opening points of the Test, but was very poor off the tee thereafter
An intentional De Klerk knock-on and another breakdown penalty against the Boks handed Ireland two more lineouts in the SA 22, but they failed to retain possession on either occasion, expensively denying them any sort of attack when well-placed.
Another key Irish chance passed moments later, when full-back Hugo Keenan splendidly sprinted through contact up to the try-line but was stopped a yard short, before No 8 Caelan Doris knocked on as he attempted to score.
Tadhg Beirne and Lowe won key breakdown penalties as Ireland’s positive start continued, but on neither occasion were any points forthcoming, with Arendse jackalling to win a priceless penalty in the 22.
A crooked Kelleher lineout throw in Ireland’s own 22 then handed South Africa a golden chance, and though centre Damian de Allende produced a big carry through Sexton, Lowe stripped possession back under the posts.
The Test was a titanic clash in Paris, worthy of a World Cup final
The act handed South Africa a five-metre attacking scrum, but Bundee Aki showed magnificent power to somehow stop Kriel, whose consequent offload went off Siya Kolisi’s head and to an Irish hand instead of a South African one.
Ireland followed up that piece of defence with another big tackle on Kolisi to force a knock-on and scrum outside the 22, from which Aki made a stunning break three-quarters up the length of the pitch, forcing South Africa onto the back-foot and to concede a penalty for no clear release.
After finally securing attacking lineout ball, Hansen then got in for a try after relentless Irish pressure and some stunning Sexton hands in the build-up, with the former just about touching down before the dead-ball line. Sexton converted too for the full haul and a 7-3 lead.
Mack Hansen scored Ireland’s only try as they held on for a crucial Rugby World Cup win
Josh van der Flier forced a further breakdown penalty before the end of the half, but Ireland could add nothing further due to another knock-on in the 22, this time by James Ryan.
Into the second period, lineout pressure from O’Mahony earned Ireland a lineout in the South Africa 22, but Mostert stole ball again at the set-piece as issues continued to dog the Irish forwards.
A Jasper Wiese breakdown penalty near halfway then saw Rassie Erasmus and co in the stand produce their requisite traffic light towards the sideline to see the kicking tee brought on. De Klerk hit the padding of the post with his effort, but an incredible Etzebeth chase saw the Bok lock land on the ball.
It put Ireland under pressure within their 22, but an inspired piece of defence from Lowe on Etzebeth, tackling him up into the air to form a maul, forced a big turnover and enormous reaction from Irish supporters.
At that point, South Africa changed four of their tight five, scrummaged hard and called for a scrum when they soon forced a penalty in the Irish 22 at the breakdown. Kolbe would then score out wide off another big drive, with no formal review for potential obstruction on Hansen by Kriel in the lead-up.
Cheslin Kolbe’s try put South Africa in front early into the second half
Libbok poorly missed the conversion, and near the hour mark came a massive moment, as after South Africa forced an Ireland knock-on through a counter-ruck near the Bok 22, the Irish pack earned an unexpected scrum penalty against the head, allowing Sexton to kick them back in front at 10-8.
Johnny Sexton kicked Ireland back in front just before the hour mark, after an Irish scrum penalty against the head
South Africa replicated the same trick up the other end soon after, though, forcing their own scrum penalty on opposition feed, but Libbok horribly missed wide again off the tee.
An offside call against Ireland replacement Dan Sheehan handed De Klerk a penalty chance from just within his own half minutes later, but he misconnected to hook wide too in a big let off for Ireland.
A poor Lowe knock-on under a high ball soon handed South Africa a scrum in Irish half. The Ireland scrum held out, but an RG Snyman charge looked to pave the way for a potential try-scoring moment, only for Conor Murray to force a Du Toit spillage in the 22.
The ball had hit Murray’s hand before going out, though, handing South Africa a huge opportunity in the form of a five-metre lineout, but replacement hooker Deon Fourie – ordinarily a back-row forward – crucially threw crookedly.
Two stunning counter-rucks saw the men in green force play up to the other end into the closing stages, and when a Crowley attempted drop-goal was charged down and left to run dead by Willemse, Ireland were handed a five-metre scrum, which brought the comfort of another penalty and three further points when South Africa were penalised for driving early again.
Jack Crowley came onto the pitch to kick Ireland’s crucial final penalty with three minutes to play
Ireland, with a five-point lead, appeared all but there when Aki forced another turnover, but a final breakdown penalty gave South Africa one last lineout attack, which they mauled up to the Irish try-line, but were dramatically kept out by a totally spent Irish defence.
It left Ireland with a sense they had now firmly gotten their teeth into the 2023 Rugby World Cup, and taken a bite out of the defending champions in the process.
Sexton: The Ireland fans were massive for us | Aki: I’ve never seen anything like this
Ireland captain Johnny Sexton told ITV Sport…
“It wasn’t the perfect Test match and those are always decided by fine margins. We are delighted with the win and it keeps us in pole position in the group.
“It felt like a home fixture for us. We were told there was 30,000 Irish fans coming today and it felt like there was probably double that.
“There was green everywhere and we are so grateful to the Irish people, they do this every time. We will keep going for them.
“We are still not out of the pools, we still need to get a result against Scotland. All our focus will be on Scotland.”
Sexton appeared to be struggling with an arm injury in the second half, but shook it off to play a big part
Player of the match Bundee Aki told ITV Sport…
“I am lost for words. These Irish fans, I have never witnessed anything like it. It is a joke. It is only going to get bigger and crazier from here on in.
“Fair play to the boys for playing so well today. South Africa are an outstanding team – they aren’t world champions for no reason.
“They gave it to us and I can guarantee whatever happens, we will see them again and they will bring more pressure. We will see how we go with a week off then regroup again for Scotland.
“We knew South Africa were going to bring it to us and they did.”
Head coach Andy Farrell added: “How we managed to stay on point mentally was fantastic, how we kept our heads, getting those couple of penalties at the end when it really mattered, is really the big plus side of our performance.
“That was some atmosphere, if that’s the sign of things to come, we’re going to be looking forward to the next game, hopefully that pushes us along.
Ireland head coach Andy Farrell was full of praise for the atmosphere at Stade de France
“It was two good teams going at it and not much between them. It’s the next step on our journey, it’s a pool stage win and that’s what it is.”
What’s next?
Ireland next face Scotland on Saturday October 7, in their crucial final Rugby World Cup Pool B game, at the Stade de France in Paris (8pm kick off BST).
South Africa are next in action vs Tonga on Sunday October 1, for their final Rugby World Cup Pool B game, at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille (8pm kick off BST).
