Ireland fall apart at the last to let victory slip from their grasp
With a quarter of this match to go it seemed Ireland had victory – and the series – in the bag.
Joe Schmidt’s tourists led by 16 points, having taken full advantage of an atrocious display by a Springbok side who were booed off at half-time.
Ireland were confident and in command. Then it all fell apart as a South African comeback, allied to the fatiguing effects of altitude, overwhelmed them. Imperious centre Damien De Allende scored the decisive try with five minutes to go, and the manner in which he brushed off Conor Murray’s weak tackle made it clear Ireland had nothing left in the tank.
Ireland, though, were masters of their own downfall. They made too many errors and invited pressure from a South African side who were there for the taking.
With the deciding Test set for Port Elizabeth next Saturday, Ireland will be hoping they have not let victory slip through their fingers.
“We put ourselves in a great position to win the game and win the series,” said their captain Rory Best. “Looking back on a lot of the mistakes we made in the second half, we gave the Boks the momentum, and when you give a team like that momentum, they show what a quality side they are.
“I think that, certainly first half and for the first 50 or 60 minutes, we were very physical and we did everything we could – and we kept going at them. Even when we conceded the try, to go straight back up and score again.
“We can take a few positives from it. It’s one-all in the series and we’re at Port Elizabeth next week, and we will back ourselves to go and try and get the win. It will be another really, really tough Test match.”
Ireland were the better side in the opening hour, although they did not have to be particularly impressive. South Africa looked shorn of confidence and cohesion, making elementary errors and wasting points from the kicking tee with reckless abandon.
Given the circumstances they found themselves in, it was no wonder that captain Adriaan Strauss praised his team’s spirit. “We really put up our hands and showed a lot of character,” he said. “We still have a lot to work on – it’s our second game together and we will definitely have another look at ourselves this week and be better next weekend.” This is a new South African team, under a new head coach in Allister Coetzee, but they played like strangers for long periods. Jackson took all Ireland’s opportunities from the tee to build a healthy lead be- fore the vulnerability of Lwazi Mvovo under the high ball was brutally exposed. He failed to deal with a lofted kick, Ireland winger Andrew Trimble skilfully tapped the ball back, and several pairs of hands took it forward before lock Devin Toner barged over.
It was a nightmare half for South Africa, who never threatened to score a try, repeatedly lost the ball and launched numerous aimless tactical kicks. Winger Ruan Combrinck, a halftime replacement for Mvovo, gave the crowd something to cheer when he dived over in the corner after an electric break by full-back Willie le Roux.
Elton Jantjies converted to trim the gap to nine points only for Ireland to hit back within two minutes as No8 Jamie Heaslip claimed a pushover try off a line-out and Jackson converted.
A scoring burst brought a third try within nine minutes as substitute No 8 Warren Whiteley went over for the Springboks but Jantjies could not convert, leaving Ireland 26-15 ahead.
But in the closing stages the momentum was with the Springboks, and lock Pieter-Steph du Toit scored beside the post, Jantjies converted and the Irish lead was down to four points.
De Allende then scored to give South Africa a dramatic triumph and ensure that the series would go to a decider.