JACKSON THRILLER ROCKS BOKS
PADDY JACKSON made his kicks and Rory Best made history yesterday – as an Irish side beat the Springboks on South African soil for the first time.
And that was despite being a man down for the last 58 minutes, after CJ Stander was sent off for a dangerous tackle on Patrick Lambie which left him in hospital.
Leading 10-3, they then survived 10 minutes either side of half-time with just 13 men after Robbie Henshaw was BRENDAN KEANE South Africa 20 Ireland 26 Eddie Jones’ men gave themselves a great chance of an historic series victory over the Wallabies, after recovering from an ominous start in Brisbane. Michael Hooper and Israel Folau grabbed early tries as the home side threatened to overrun the Six Nations champions. But the tourists responded brilliantly with Jonathan Joseph, Marland Yarde and Jack Nowell crossing. The boot of Owen Farrell did the majority of the damage as England sealed only their fourth victory Down Under in 18 matches. Nowell plundered his try in the final minute of a pulsating Test and the visitors head to Melbourne on Saturday, knowing a win will complete a series triumph. Head coach Jones remains unbeaten since taking over at Twickenham and now has seven Test victories in the bank. The delighted Aussie said: “We showed real grit. We had a plan which we thought could beat Australia. They caught us out with their pace at the start and it took us time to adjust but we did the simple things well. We’ve come here to win.” The hosts started off the stronger and crossed inside the opening 10 minutes, Folau creating space for Hooper. Jones had predicted that Australia would come out “breathing fire”. And he was right as Folau touched down, with England’s defence s t retched to breaking point. A Farrell penalty got his side off the mark but they were struggling with Australia’s pace and power. Two missed touch-finders, though, left the Wallabies pinned in their 22 and Farrell cut the deficit as they were penalised at the breakdown. Bernard Foley looked to have added a stunning solo try but it was ruled out for obstruction by Rory Arnold on Luther Burrell. Farrell then ran hard and straight to make ground and Australia were penalised again, with the fly-half kicking the three points. And England went ahead when Joseph pounced on a poor pass and hacked ahead to touch down. Farrell and Foley then traded penalties, with the Englishman having the final say of the half. Jones’ side made a great start to the second half when a line-out drive ended with James Haskell peeling off the back and striding 20 metres before being stopped. And two phases later George Ford’s brilliant long pass gave Yarde a simple run-in. Farrell’s boot kept the scoreboard moving as England stormed 29-13 ahead but Hooper’s fine finish threatened a fightback. Farrell’s sixth penalty gave some breathing space but Tevita Kuridrani powered over and Foley’s kick cut the lead to seven points. A long-range Foley penalty two minutes from time set the England nerves jangling but the tourists had the final say when Nowell took Ford’s superb kick to touch down. England captain Dylan Hartley said: “The result was key but we have to keep our feet on the ground. The way we started the game will need looking at. ” Wallabies skipper Stephen Moore said: “There were bits and pieces that didn’t go well but we’ve got two Tests to bounce back.” sin-binned – incredibly out-scoring their hosts by three points in that time.
They began to believe then and when Conor Murray added their second try – after Jared Payne got their first early on – the odds started to favour Ireland.
Pieter-Steph du Toit scored under the posts in the 69th minute to close the gap to three points but Jackson’s penalty two minutes later – his sixth score of the game – sealed the historic win.
Ireland skipper Best said: “That score was crucial and says a lot about Paddy’s mentality under pressure.
“It was just a fabulous effort from the entire team.
“We worked tirelessly for each other, tackled everything that moved and just kept believing.”