Boks triumph over tough Ireland
The Springboks have finally emerged victorious against their voodoo team Ireland, after a hard-fought 27-20 win in the first of two Tests in the Castle Lager Incoming Series at the Loftus Versfeld stadium in Pretoria.
This was the team first home Test since winning the 2023 Rugby World Cup in Paris, France, last year.
The Boks were the first team to take the lead, when Kurt-Lee Arendse scored the first of the team three tries in the third minute.
But despite the seven-point margin win, Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus, was not impressed.
“Overall, the goal was achieved but it was far from a perfect performance.
Ireland is a team we’ve had zero success against since we took over in 2018 and the next worst record is against New Zealand, which is a 50% record, and they’ve really had our number.
And there were instances where they came back so strongly and if they didn’t have one or two big injuries the game would have been much tighter.
I wouldn’t say it’s a monkey off our back but it’s a really good competitive opponent, who are number two in the world, and any day they can step up and beat you and be number one,” said Erasmus.
The coach was however pleased that the team created several other openings as they try to develop an attacking game.
“But saying that Ireland are not No 2 in the world for nothing and their defensive system is really sound.
It was a very stop-start game, there was a two-minute delay here with either an injury or someone getting treated, it was no one’s fault, but for both teams it hampered momentum,” explained Erasmus.
Bok captain Siya Kolisi hailed the team win against Ireland at the sold-out stadium but cautioned that the series is not over yet.
“Of course, this game was very important for us.
We haven’t beaten them since 2016, so it was special for our confidence.
But the job is not done yet.
We want to win the series and we know they are going to come back harder.
“Even in the game today it looked like we were going to pull away, but they kept coming back so we know it is going to be another proper Test in Durban,” warned Kolisi.
Kolisi’s concerns were also echoed by Erasmus.
“Ireland will work out what we tried to do tonight, and we’re going to try and work out what they did because they also scored three tries.
Next week I’ll expect the same from them, they’ll never give up and they’ll try to be more dominant.
They’ll be more settled in the second test,” added Erasmus.
The win was South Africa’s first in four attempts since 2016 against Ireland.
The second test takes place at Hollywoodbets Kings Park on Saturday.
