Rory Keane reports from Port Elizabeth
SO NEAR YET so far. Rory Best brought an Ireland side to the brink of history twice in recent weeks.
Having blown a 16-point lead in Johannesburg with 20 minutes remaining in the second Test, Ireland botched two clear try-scoring opportunities during a hard-fought encounter in Port Elizabeth. In a game of such fine margins, those near misses proved crucial.
For an injury-ravaged side at the end of a long campaign it was a monumental effort but this Ireland squad will look back on a series that was there for the taking, on several occasions.
“We’re disappointed,” said Best after his side’s 19-13 defeat.
“Before we left Dublin, people had written us off and while there was a lot of talk about coming here and making history by winning one match, within the group we felt we could come here and win a Test series.
“After Cape Town, we put ourselves in a fantastic position to do that and to have fallen short is bitterly disappointing.
“A six-point game in all three Tests shows how tight it was and we’ll look back on a first-half when as a front row we didn’t fire the way we wanted to.”
Ireland’s lineout was near flawless during the third Test decider as they claimed 14 of their 15 lineouts for a 93% success rate out of touch.
The scrum, however, was a major cause for concern, particularly in the first-half, where the Springboks appeared to have the upper hand gaining four penalties and two free-kicks as Tendai Mtawarira and co. put the squeeze on the visitors.
“Whenever the set-piece is struggling a little bit it’s a bit harder to find your rhythm around the pitch as you’d like,” the Ulster hooker explained.
“At half time, there was a bit of ‘let’s just roll up the sleeves and get on with it as best we can’ but look there’s been a lot of young guys blooded, a lot of positives in terms of the historic win in Cape Town and so many young guys getting their first cap or maybe adding to the handful of caps they had and playing really well.
“But ultimately, as a group, there’s not a game that we go into that we don’t expect to win and from that regard we’re disappointed.”
The Boks have come in for plenty of criticism throughout this series, particularly after their shambolic display against a 14-man Irish side in the opening Test.
The overwhelming feeling among the South African press after the final whistle at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium was one of relief; the Boks were left off the hook here, no question.
Many have questioned whether the Boks have lost their aura in recent seasons having terrorised other nations with their brutish brand of rugby through the decades.
A home defeat against Argentina last season, that infamous World Cup loss to Japan and their stuttering performances throughout this three-Test series would suggest that this current Boks squad lack the physical threat of their predecessors.
“No, it’s something that we talked a lot about, that that is one area of the game that they bring in spades,” said Best.
“For us, we were able to front-up and a lot of the talk of them losing their physicality is probably taking away from what we brought.
“You saw certainly in the last 20 minutes in Johannesburg, when they get front-foot ball and they get big carriers into the game, for me they haven’t lost that edge at all. They have big men, they carry and carry very hard.
“From our point of view, to a man, boys stood up and we fired into them as best we could. At times, the sheer size and force of them gives them front-foot ball, but I’ve played against South Africa a few times and I don’t feel this team has lost their edge in any regard.”
Meanwhile, Ireland confirmed last night that Tiernan O’Halloran has suffered bruised ribs in the third Test defeat. Following the controversial incident with Willie le Roux, he underwent a precautionary HIA which cleared him of concussion and he was cleared to return to field of play.
Luke Marshall also underwent HIA late in the game and was cleared to return to the field but the clock ran down and prevented his return.
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