THE MORNING AFTER the night before. The Ireland team enjoyed some well-earned beers after their statement defeat of South Africa last night but the late kick-off time served to temper celebrations, with the squad not getting back to their hotel on the outskirts of Paris until the early hours of the morning.
With Andy Farrell’s team now able to look forward to a couple of days off ahead of their next pool clash with Scotland on 7 October, a late night wasn’t a problem but scrum coach John Fogarty was up bright and early to dial in for a post-game debrief with the Irish media.
“Nothing too mad at all,” Fogarty said of the post-game celebrations.
“The dressing-room is generally the best craic, you’re there together and there’s no outside distractions. There’s a few moments there where I made it around to all the front-rows and discussed who they played against, how they got on.
“We enjoyed that time together in the dressing-room. It’s a late kick-off, we got back to the hotel around 1am so we didn’t do the dog on it, but we enjoyed each other’s company.”
Reflecting on the game this morning, there was any number of areas the Ireland scrum coach could highlight for praise. South Africa head coach Jacques Nienaber and captain Siya Kolisi both had kind words for Ireland’s work at the breakdown last night, but today, Fogarty focused on their defensive work.
The lads feel they can bring an Irish edge to defence, that type of mentality where we’re getting off the ground, getting into position, where we’re in front of the South Africans every time is important for us.
“That’s certainly an area we focused on coming into the game and we’re very pleased at the end of it.”
As for the scrum, it was a fascinating battle between two powerful, dynamic packs. The Boks had real momentum when they brought fresh legs into their pack early in the second half, but Ireland steadied to ship to take some big wins of their own at the setpiece.
“I was very proud of the lads,” Fogarty continued. “It was a tough game. Like the game itself, there were such small margins and there were times when we felt in control and there were times when we were under pressure.
“We had a good plan and I thought the height that we scrummaged off, we were very connected. We were dealing with that weight.
“But just before half time you see a movement left and the scrum creaked a little bit. I think half-time there was a reset of mentality and going back, understanding the plan.
“The lads were excellent in how they did that, because the second half in particularly was a little bit up and down, you’re dealing with some bodies off the bench, you’re dealing with more weight, so there were moments when we were obviously under pressure but when the players were able to be composed and taking a moment, taking the breaks we could and reconnecting with each other and going back at that them.
“That is the most pleasing part, the ability to stay composed when there were really under serious pressure. Sometimes in a game, that can build and is racing in your mind but the lads stayed clear in their heads of what the plan was. And we managed to fight back in that second half. That’s the most pleasing part.”
At the heart of that scrum effort was Andrew Porter, who put in a massive 75-minute shift.
“I thought Andrew was absolutely immense last night, across the pitch, doing what he did at scrum time was one thing but to back it up across the field, his defence was excellent.
“His ability to get off the ground and give people energy, he took a few carries that he needed to make metres in and he worked unbelievably hard in those carries, we’re very lucky to have someone who is a resilient guy, real physicality but he’s got a huge engine and appetite for the game. He’s working very well with the team at the moment.”
Fogarty added that he was particularly pleased with the impact made from the Ireland bench. While much of the pre-game focus had been on South Africa’s 7/1 bench split, the Ireland replacements held their own, with Iain Henderson and Dan Sheehan both playing their part in settling the Ireland setpiece following the introduction of the ‘bomb squad’, while scrum-half Conor Murray also made some important contributions in his excellent cameo.
“Yeah for sure, and without a doubt their (South Africa’s) plan works well for them and they brought energy on the field, but I thought the boys were excellent when they came on the field,” Fogarty said.
“Iain Henderson came on and brought a real composure to everything that was happening, he shored things up massively across setpiece and I thought he did a great job.
“And the rest of the boys as well, Finlay, Killer, Dan Sheehan, Murr, the lot of them. Again, being able to not just fit in but actually add something, add to the energy, add to the composure. I thought they were excellent.”
Fogarty added that he was not aware of an alleged stamp by Ox Nche on Josh van der Flier’s hand.
“I wasn’t aware of a stamping. I’m not aware if there was a stamping on not. I’m sure World Rugby will be looking across everything, referees will be looking across everything,
“At the moment in time, I’m sure there is if we needed to. I haven’t heard anything from our end. The disciplinary board will look at it. I’m sure World Rugby are all over those bits.”
In better news, Fogarty confirmed Ireland have no fresh injury concerns ahead of the Scotland game. A good night’s work all round.