![Ireland must beat South Africa to live up to hype they have generated](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/rugby-union/2024/07/05/TELEMMGLPICT000384488151_17201851854030_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bqu97izp7Iuxauf2FzlVPId7eHsZFrEmHQDi0eQN40zhg.jpeg?imwidth=680)
Ireland must beat South Africa to live up to the hype
Win would help tourists put ‘disappointment’ of missing out on Grand Slam behind them as they continue to lick wounds after World Cup exit
![Ireland must beat South Africa to live up to hype they have generated](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/rugby-union/2024/07/05/TELEMMGLPICT000384488151_17201851854030_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bqu97izp7Iuxauf2FzlVPId7eHsZFrEmHQDi0eQN40zhg.jpeg?imwidth=680)
Those excited discussions about Ireland’s potential going into last year’s Rugby World Cup now feel like ancient history, but there was so much collective admiration across the world for what Andy Farrell’s side had achieved in the years leading up to the tournament in France. A first-ever series win in New Zealand by a northern hemisphere team, a Grand Slam in the 2023 Six Nations, an unbeaten run which had stretched to 17 games by the end of the pool stages and included two wins over South Africa.
A country with a population of five million, in which rugby is the third-most popular sport, were ranked No 1 and had taken over the world. The quarter-final exit to the All Blacks in Paris will have been excruciating but the hopes for Ireland have not really changed, even with the retirement of Johnny Sexton. The way Farrell’s side defeated France in Marseille to kick off this year’s Six Nations set the tone.
Having been present in March for the trophy presentation after Ireland clinched a second consecutive Six Nations title, there was a surprising atmosphere in the stands. Pleased to be champions again, absolutely, but something was slightly off, having missed out on a Grand Slam with that defeat to England at Twickenham. With great success comes great expectation.
It should be stressed that Leinster are not Ireland – different coaches, different systems, even if the players are largely the same – but their recent defeats both in that epic Champions Cup final against Toulouse and then in Pretoria against the Bulls in the United Rugby Championship semi-final are intriguing. Particularly given the Bulls defeat came at altitude at Loftus, although really it was the punishing scrum display from the Bulls against a front row of Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan and Tadhg Furlong which raised eyebrows. Wilco Louw, the former Harlequins prop who did most of the damage, is not even in the Springboks squad.
Munster’s URC title win last year was extraordinary and they were undoubtedly favourites to defeat Glasgow in the other URC semi-final a few weeks ago. Instead they were shocked by Glasgow, who famously went on to beat the Bulls in the final in Pretoria and in the process ripped up any planned articles about the difficulties of playing at altitude ... (it is worth noting that Munster also won at Loftus back in April).
‘You don’t win a Grand Slam and that is a disappointment’
That combination of missing out on the Grand Slam plus Leinster and Munster’s URC defeats in knockout matches has created a little pressure on Ireland to get a result, even though they are away from home against the world champions and missing three key backs in Jamison Gibson-Park, Mack Hansen and Hugo Keenan. Instead, Jamie Osborne makes a debut at full-back and is set for a busy afternoon catching everything which Faf de Klerk, Handre Pollard and Willie le Roux send his way.
“It’s mad that you go and win a Six Nations, back-to-back, and you don’t win a Grand Slam and that is a disappointment,” Jordi Murphy, part of Ireland’s winning side on that day in 2016 against South Africa, tells Telegraph Sport.
“A lot of them will be thinking that club-wise, they didn’t meet expectations or were not where they wanted to be; both of those provinces were knocking on the door. All in all, it’s been a very long 12, 13 months for these guys and they will be really hungry to go out on a high. Especially because obviously there has been all this chatter about who is the best team in the world. If you were to pick up one, if not two wins down there, that would put that to bed for a while.”
How, therefore, to win in South Africa? Eight years have passed and of the side who triumphed in Cape Town, playing largely with 14 men following CJ Stander’s red card, there are few survivors; Conor Murray, Iain Henderson (currently injured) and Furlong. Springbok players who faced Ireland that day and will be present at Loftus include Le Roux, Damian de Allende, De Klerk (making his debut that day), Siya Kolisi, Eben Etzebeth, Frans Malherbe, Bongi Mbonambi, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Jesse Kriel. All were part of that first game for Allister Coetzee, when the Springboks were caught cold.
The 2016 win also happened to be Andy Farrell’s first Test as Ireland’s defence coach, after being dismissed by England following the previous year’s Rugby World Cup disaster. Ireland made 147 tackles that day to South Africa’s 90.
Murphy explains: “It was a brand new dynamic from him and kicked us straight into gear. I felt our defence in that first game, especially down to 14, was key. Before he came in we might have been more of a passive defensive team, where his whole philosophy was getting off the line and hitting people, which was pretty exciting to be part of.”
Winning at Loftus on Saturday will require Ireland to replicate the physical intensity shown in the wins over South Africa in the World Cup pool stages and in the autumn of 2022, adds Murphy, while noting that altitude in Pretoria is no longer an excuse.
“Mentally, it might not be as bad for the Irish guys anymore because they have played [at Loftus] so often in the past couple of years. Ireland base themselves on being clinical and so attention-focused, and they are going to need to absolutely nail everything for a full 80 minutes. I cannot see anyone blowing anyone out of the water, it will be another tight one again.”
Suggesting that Ireland are under pressure to get a result in South Africa would have sounded absurd eight years ago. It is a measure now of just how far they have come.