ANDY FARRELL STRUCK a positive, proud note post-match in Dublin, but the Ireland boss is an astute, experienced enough coach to know that his team were well off the pace against the Springboks.
We shouldn’t underestimate the effort it took not to get blown away on the scoreboard when Ireland spent the majority of the game at least one player down due to being shown four yellow cards and one 20-minute red.
Ireland played only 38 minutes of Saturday’s game with 15 players against 15.
They had 24 minutes of 14 Irish players against 15 Springboks, another 16 minutes with just 13 players against the Boks’ 15, as well as three minutes of action when there were only 12 Irish players on the pitch against 15 South Africans.
The Boks had a four-minute spell at the end of the game when they were the ones with a player fewer, but it mattered little at that stage and they still held Ireland out.
Ireland boss Andy Farrell. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
Clearly, it took a big effort not to lose by more than 11 points, but really that physical energy and grit are the minimum that Farrell would expect from his players.
He should be disappointed that it wasn’t matched by more quality and composure.
The reality is that Ireland were down on numbers because of their own shortcomings. It’s not as if injuries forced chaos upon them. Ireland invited it through their poor discipline and set-piece weaknesses.
Ireland’s discipline has slipped in the last couple of seasons.
Penalties like the one above from James Lowe for a tackle in the air or the one below from Caelan Doris for escorting are directly in Ireland’s control.
They hand momentum and field position to the Springboks.
Throw in the growing number of yellow and red cards for his team over the last two seasons and this decreasing discipline in Ireland’s game is something that Farrell must nip in the bud.
It’s his job to make sure Ireland are disciplined enough to compete with the best but that certainly wasn’t the case on Saturday.
South Africa and France both have former top-level Test referees in full-time roles within their staffs in Jaco Peyper and Jérôme Garcès. It’s something Farrell should consider, all the more so given that understanding how referees make decisions around scrums is so important to Test rugby.
The scrum was the dominant feature of the game. South Africa earned a penalty try there, five other penalties, as well as a further four penalty advantages. Cobus Reinach and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu both scored tries on scrum penalty advantage.
Andrew Porter and Paddy McCarthy were sin-binned for scrum offences, while Ireland had to rush the ball in and out of their own scrums, meaning it was a poor platform to kick or attack from.
Gary Carr / INPHO
Gary Carr / INPHO / INPHO
It’s impossible to look past the scrum when assessing the cause for Ireland’s defeat, yet it was far from the only issue.
Their maul defence wasn’t at the level required, with four penalty concessions there, while Ireland lost the ball on three of their 11 lineout throws. Their kicking game was inaccurate, while they didn’t have a clinical edge early in the game when they needed it.
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Ireland had an attacking chance in the South African 22 as early as the third minute but were turned over by Jasper Wiese. Instead of muscling up in defence, Ireland then instantly conceded to the very first Springboks attack of the game. It was a sensational try by Rassie Erasmus’ team, but it set a tone in that Ireland had a setback, then another one straight after.
In the past, Farrell’s men were good at compounding good moments with more good moments. They were also impressive in being able to bounce back from tough moments with better ones in the next passage of play. Those are traits they haven’t consistently exhibited in the last year.
Look at the few minutes around James Ryan’s 20-minute red card, which could have been a permanent red.
Sam Prendergast misses a kickable penalty that launches a string of errors from Ireland.
Though Lowe gets the ball back after it comes off the post, Ryan errs in the passage of attack that ensues.
It’s a big discipline error from Ryan, as he arrives late to the breakdown and launches himself into a no-arms shoulder charge that connects with Malcolm Marx’s face.
Not only is Ryan red-carded upon review, but Tadhg Beirne’s possible try two phases later is chalked off.
So Ireland have gone from what would have been a 7-5 lead after the opening quarter back to a 0-5 deficit and are now playing with 14 men.
They need to respond solidly, but instead their kicking game lets them down.
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who was very lucky not to be carded for his earlier hit on Tommy O’Brien, misses touch with the penalty from the Ryan incident, but Prendergast’s return bomb is too long and easily fielded for a mark.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu kicks back down into Ireland’s half and there’s another kick error from Prendergast in response.
This time, the Ireland out-half’s garryowen goes out on the full.
So Ireland have gone from two scoring positions in the South African half – Prendergast’s penalty and the possession involving Ryan’s red – to defending a lineout close to their 22.
A period of Boks pressure follows and when Ireland have a chance to lift it, they make another kick error.
This time, O’Brien’s clearance kick goes out on the full.
Against a team as good as the Springboks, a team who delight in these invitations to pile the pressure on, you cannot afford to stack error on error on error like this.
South Africa nearly score from the subsequent lineout, with the try correctly chalked off for a forward pass, but Ireland spend virtually all of next 10 minutes under intense pressure in their own 22.
O’Brien escapes a yellow card for a high tackle, but Cobus Reinach eventually darts over to score for the Boks, and Prendergast is binned after persistent Irish infringements.
In fairness to 13-man Ireland, they respond well to going 12-0 down and produce perhaps their best passage of the game to score through Dan Sheehan. But having done that hard work to get back into the contest, they err again before the break.
Ireland need to deliver one final defensive set to get to the half-time break trailing just 12-7 but Jack Crowley makes another discipline error and gets sin-binned.
With Ireland down to 12 men, the Boks turn the screw by earning a maul penalty, another scrum penalty and Porter’s yellow card, then the penalty try.
Ireland have to get through a couple of minutes at the start of the second half still down to 12 players and actually manage to earn three points for Prendergast to kick just after coming back onto the pitch.
But once again, they fail to be solid in the next moment.
Cian Prendergast knocks the restart on and the Boks get yet another scrum.
Ireland opt to send Bundee Aki into the scrum to make it an eight-man effort but South Africa still march forward and play off penalty advantage against an exposed Irish backline.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu scores a first-phase try, fending his way through Jamison Gibson-Park’s tackle attempt, which is up high.
Ireland’s defence was obviously hugely stretched here, but it’s a tackle error from Gibson-Park.
Making it all the more frustrating is that the next time Ireland scored points, they once again fail to deal with the restart.
Sam Prendergast’s penalty leaves Ireland 11 points down with just under 25 minutes to play. Farrell’s side are now back to a full complement of 15 players. Having clung in there, they haven’t quite lost sight of the Springboks yet.
But Ireland instantly give up momentum as Cian Prendergast misjudges the flight of Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s excellent restart and the ball bounces forward off Crowley.
What follows is more than 15 minutes of intense pressure in the Irish half, most of it in their 22, and though they show defensive grit again, the passage includes more scrum penalties and McCarthy’s yellow card.
South Africa fail to add more points, but by the time Ireland are back to 15 players and down the other end, they’re a spent force and can’t get back within a score to set up a big finish.
And this was the story of the night for Ireland, and perhaps the story of the past year when it comes to the biggest tests.
Farrell’s men struggle to maintain momentum for notable periods of these high-level games. They can still deliver thrilling passages of quality – the Sheehan try, for example – but they are inconsistent in building positive moments upon positive moments.
That’s the reality of where Ireland are.
It’s up to Farrell and his assistant coaches to figure out ways of making their players’ discipline, composure, and set-piece work more consistent.
- This article was updated at 4.22pm on 25 November to correct a typo in the 21st paragraph.
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Ireland's scrum far from the only issue in Springboks defeat
ANDY FARRELL STRUCK a positive, proud note post-match in Dublin, but the Ireland boss is an astute, experienced enough coach to know that his team were well off the pace against the Springboks.
We shouldn’t underestimate the effort it took not to get blown away on the scoreboard when Ireland spent the majority of the game at least one player down due to being shown four yellow cards and one 20-minute red.
Ireland played only 38 minutes of Saturday’s game with 15 players against 15.
They had 24 minutes of 14 Irish players against 15 Springboks, another 16 minutes with just 13 players against the Boks’ 15, as well as three minutes of action when there were only 12 Irish players on the pitch against 15 South Africans.
The Boks had a four-minute spell at the end of the game when they were the ones with a player fewer, but it mattered little at that stage and they still held Ireland out.
Clearly, it took a big effort not to lose by more than 11 points, but really that physical energy and grit are the minimum that Farrell would expect from his players.
He should be disappointed that it wasn’t matched by more quality and composure.
The reality is that Ireland were down on numbers because of their own shortcomings. It’s not as if injuries forced chaos upon them. Ireland invited it through their poor discipline and set-piece weaknesses.
Ireland’s discipline has slipped in the last couple of seasons.
Penalties like the one above from James Lowe for a tackle in the air or the one below from Caelan Doris for escorting are directly in Ireland’s control.
They hand momentum and field position to the Springboks.
Throw in the growing number of yellow and red cards for his team over the last two seasons and this decreasing discipline in Ireland’s game is something that Farrell must nip in the bud.
It’s his job to make sure Ireland are disciplined enough to compete with the best but that certainly wasn’t the case on Saturday.
South Africa and France both have former top-level Test referees in full-time roles within their staffs in Jaco Peyper and Jérôme Garcès. It’s something Farrell should consider, all the more so given that understanding how referees make decisions around scrums is so important to Test rugby.
The scrum was the dominant feature of the game. South Africa earned a penalty try there, five other penalties, as well as a further four penalty advantages. Cobus Reinach and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu both scored tries on scrum penalty advantage.
Andrew Porter and Paddy McCarthy were sin-binned for scrum offences, while Ireland had to rush the ball in and out of their own scrums, meaning it was a poor platform to kick or attack from.
It’s impossible to look past the scrum when assessing the cause for Ireland’s defeat, yet it was far from the only issue.
Their maul defence wasn’t at the level required, with four penalty concessions there, while Ireland lost the ball on three of their 11 lineout throws. Their kicking game was inaccurate, while they didn’t have a clinical edge early in the game when they needed it.
Ireland had an attacking chance in the South African 22 as early as the third minute but were turned over by Jasper Wiese. Instead of muscling up in defence, Ireland then instantly conceded to the very first Springboks attack of the game. It was a sensational try by Rassie Erasmus’ team, but it set a tone in that Ireland had a setback, then another one straight after.
In the past, Farrell’s men were good at compounding good moments with more good moments. They were also impressive in being able to bounce back from tough moments with better ones in the next passage of play. Those are traits they haven’t consistently exhibited in the last year.
Look at the few minutes around James Ryan’s 20-minute red card, which could have been a permanent red.
Sam Prendergast misses a kickable penalty that launches a string of errors from Ireland.
Though Lowe gets the ball back after it comes off the post, Ryan errs in the passage of attack that ensues.
It’s a big discipline error from Ryan, as he arrives late to the breakdown and launches himself into a no-arms shoulder charge that connects with Malcolm Marx’s face.
Not only is Ryan red-carded upon review, but Tadhg Beirne’s possible try two phases later is chalked off.
So Ireland have gone from what would have been a 7-5 lead after the opening quarter back to a 0-5 deficit and are now playing with 14 men.
They need to respond solidly, but instead their kicking game lets them down.
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who was very lucky not to be carded for his earlier hit on Tommy O’Brien, misses touch with the penalty from the Ryan incident, but Prendergast’s return bomb is too long and easily fielded for a mark.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu kicks back down into Ireland’s half and there’s another kick error from Prendergast in response.
This time, the Ireland out-half’s garryowen goes out on the full.
So Ireland have gone from two scoring positions in the South African half – Prendergast’s penalty and the possession involving Ryan’s red – to defending a lineout close to their 22.
A period of Boks pressure follows and when Ireland have a chance to lift it, they make another kick error.
This time, O’Brien’s clearance kick goes out on the full.
Against a team as good as the Springboks, a team who delight in these invitations to pile the pressure on, you cannot afford to stack error on error on error like this.
South Africa nearly score from the subsequent lineout, with the try correctly chalked off for a forward pass, but Ireland spend virtually all of next 10 minutes under intense pressure in their own 22.
O’Brien escapes a yellow card for a high tackle, but Cobus Reinach eventually darts over to score for the Boks, and Prendergast is binned after persistent Irish infringements.
In fairness to 13-man Ireland, they respond well to going 12-0 down and produce perhaps their best passage of the game to score through Dan Sheehan. But having done that hard work to get back into the contest, they err again before the break.
Ireland need to deliver one final defensive set to get to the half-time break trailing just 12-7 but Jack Crowley makes another discipline error and gets sin-binned.
With Ireland down to 12 men, the Boks turn the screw by earning a maul penalty, another scrum penalty and Porter’s yellow card, then the penalty try.
Ireland have to get through a couple of minutes at the start of the second half still down to 12 players and actually manage to earn three points for Prendergast to kick just after coming back onto the pitch.
But once again, they fail to be solid in the next moment.
Cian Prendergast knocks the restart on and the Boks get yet another scrum.
Ireland opt to send Bundee Aki into the scrum to make it an eight-man effort but South Africa still march forward and play off penalty advantage against an exposed Irish backline.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu scores a first-phase try, fending his way through Jamison Gibson-Park’s tackle attempt, which is up high.
Ireland’s defence was obviously hugely stretched here, but it’s a tackle error from Gibson-Park.
Making it all the more frustrating is that the next time Ireland scored points, they once again fail to deal with the restart.
Sam Prendergast’s penalty leaves Ireland 11 points down with just under 25 minutes to play. Farrell’s side are now back to a full complement of 15 players. Having clung in there, they haven’t quite lost sight of the Springboks yet.
But Ireland instantly give up momentum as Cian Prendergast misjudges the flight of Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s excellent restart and the ball bounces forward off Crowley.
What follows is more than 15 minutes of intense pressure in the Irish half, most of it in their 22, and though they show defensive grit again, the passage includes more scrum penalties and McCarthy’s yellow card.
South Africa fail to add more points, but by the time Ireland are back to 15 players and down the other end, they’re a spent force and can’t get back within a score to set up a big finish.
And this was the story of the night for Ireland, and perhaps the story of the past year when it comes to the biggest tests.
Farrell’s men struggle to maintain momentum for notable periods of these high-level games. They can still deliver thrilling passages of quality – the Sheehan try, for example – but they are inconsistent in building positive moments upon positive moments.
That’s the reality of where Ireland are.
It’s up to Farrell and his assistant coaches to figure out ways of making their players’ discipline, composure, and set-piece work more consistent.
- This article was updated at 4.22pm on 25 November to correct a typo in the 21st paragraph.
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andy farrell Discipline Momentum Rugby shortcomings Springboks