Ireland vs South Africa 8th of November

First topic message reminder :

In six days time Ireland will host South Africa in their first test of the November tours. South Africa will have to lift themselves for this one as the standard under Meyer has ben exemplary in Europe, he is yet to lose a test match and the Six Nations champions gets first shot at breaking Meyer's unbeaten streak over the Six Nations teams.

It seems both teams are effected by injuries so their depth will be severely tested.

South African players unavailable due to injury.

Props - Marcel v d Merwe, Frans Malherbe
Hooker - Schalk Brits, Callie Visagie
Locks - Pieter Steph du Toit, Flip v d Merwe
Back Row - Frans Louw, Willem Alberts, Siya Kolisi, Arno Botha
Halfback - Fourie du Preez, Ruan Pienaar (Pending a fitness test)
Midfield - Jaque Fourie

Irish players unavailable due to injury.
Props - Healy, Moore, Ross (Questionable)
Hooker - Cronin, Best (questionable)
Locks - Tuohy, Ryan
Back Row - Henderson, Murphy, O'Brien
Halfback -
Flyhalf - Sexton (Questionable)
Midfield - Darcy (questionable)
Back Three - Kearney, Earls, Trimble, Fitzgerald, McFadden, Bowe (questionable)

Ireland has been rather successful against South Africa in the last decade, managing wins in 2004, 2006 and 2009.

South Africa 31 - 17 Ireland
South Africa 26 - 17 Ireland
Ireland 17 - 12 South Africa
Ireland 32 - 15 South Africa
Ireland 15 - 10 South Africa
Ireland 21 - 23 South Africa
Ireland 12 - 16 South Africa

Likely matchday 23 for South Africa.

1. Tendai Mtwarira
2. Bismarck du Plessis
3. Jannie du PLessis
4. Eben Etzebeth
5. Victor Matfield
6. Marcell Coetzee
7. Oupa Mohoje
8. Duane Vermeulen
9. Francois Hougaard
10. Handre Pollard
11. Brya Habana
12. Jean de Villiers
13. Jan Serfontein
14. Cornal Hendricks
15. Willie le Roux.

Subs
16. Coenie Oosthuizen
17. Adriaan Strauss
18. Julian Redelinghuys
19. Bakkies Botha
20. Schalk Burger
21. Cobus Reinach
22. Johan Goosen
23. Patrick Lambie/Damien de Allende

Likely Irish matchday 23. (Help please)

Ireland will be keen to beat the Springboks, even though they are unlikely to meet them in earlier rounds of the RWC it will give them validation and confidence for the Rugby World Cup. Under their new coach I expect them to throw the ball around and attempt to run the SPringboks off their feet, Ireland is also more used to the conditions and could use that to their advantage, I suspect the territorial game will be part of their plans.

It is easier sad than done though, the only team in recent years that managed to run the Springboks off their feet was New Zealand, and that was at altitude. South Africa these days play more adventurous rugby and at a great pace as well, newcomer Handre POllard will be on his first trip to Europe, so it might take him a while to adapt, but once on song he will be the danger man, South Africa attacks a lot flatter without Morne Steyn which does provide more hesitation in opposition defences and creates more space for their outside backs.

One issue with South Africa this season has been their inconsistency in performances, and they will have to be on song from the start.

Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer has warned his team they will need to be at their best if they are to keep their unbeaten record under his management in the northern hemisphere intact.

Meyer singled out the team’s first fixture against Ireland as a crucial one to kick off the team’s four week tour, and one which is the most tricky of all their fixtures.

The Boks know they cannot focus on the Twickenham showdown before getting past the tricky Irish, who have been a team that has plagued them at this time of year under previous coaches.

The Boks will know all too well how a poor opening performance can set the trend for the tour, and with chances to experiment getting less and less ahead of the World Cup, it is imperative that the team kick off the tour on a high note.

“We have a proud record and we haven’t lost a game there. But we have a proud record and this is probably the toughest tour we have faced to the Northern Hemisphere. I truly believe Ireland is an unbelievable team, they were unlucky not to beat the All Blacks last year.

“They’ve got a great coaching staff, a lot of in-form players and their defence is great. They’ve got a good kicking game in those conditions."

That's it boys, enjoy the discussion.

To Irish fans congrats better team on the day fully deserved to win even if someone else besides that eternal plonker Poite wasn't refereeing. To Bok fans and naysayers. Two words Jan Serfontein. The only bok who at least left it all on the field

I don't know where to begin.

FOr a team that had "more time than ever before to prepare" I wonder what the hell they were doing.

I have never seen so many stupid errors in attack.

Bismarck conceding two pealties on attack in the Irish redzone.

Hougaard dropping two balls inside the Irish red zone.

The arrogance of the Springboks not to take their kicks and therefor chasing the scoreboard the whole time.

Jean de Villiers did nothing.

Vicki Matfield can't hit a hole in a wet paper bag.

MOre than a dozen handling errors, penalised out of their minds.

It was pathetic enough until the card and then it just went further south from there.

Ireland outsmarted the Boks som much it became hilarious after a while, how do you steal 4 line outs from  the opposition, win everyone of your own and still not dominate?

It was pathetic and this is exactly the reason why the Boks won't be number one. Pathetic. NO embarrassing.

A Schmidteam tend to outsmart their opposition quite often.

proof once again that springbok fans cannot take a loss. For all the talk of blooding youngsters we get very bitter when we lose with or without them. This game assured me of Meyers competence as a coach. He tried to get a wet weather scrummie , Pienaar , and we all scoffed when we heard then celebrated when he was ruled out. Now we see why. Hougie is useless in the wet so too reinach . second Jdv is still a fantastic captain despite not going for poles early. We applaud him when it works but it won't work all the time so don't Poopie on him when he tries to be brave and go for bigger points. Lastly,take heart I'd rather this first NH loss today rather than feeling it in the quartere next year . The Boks will adapt and learn from their mistakes no need to chuck your toys out the pram after one game and

yeah not good Biltong. SA just seemed to forget everything they'd learned. It was the sort of match the ABs are having but they still manage to salvage it. Ireland ripped away from us last year but we pegged them back. Thought the boks would too but just didnt happen.

I'd say Schmidt has had a lot to say for this Irish standard.

Sexton was good. Never plays like that versus us.

But yeah, wasn't good all round.

The Saint wrote:A Schmidteam tend to outsmart their opposition quite often.

It's true he is quite a smart coach. Methodical. It's not going to win you every game but if you didn't know already you would really not guess which team had a lot of preparation time and which team only had two weeks based on that performance.

Far out, just saw the result. Well done Ireland, sounded like a very solid win!

With specific reference to the tactic of not contesting mauls and sending a man round the back to sack the ball carrier - take a bow Jack McGrath. He was sent on a one man mission to deconstruct those mauls and he nailed it every time. For a 25 year old prop he is getting better and better even if we struggled in the scrum at times - that was expected.

I liked at the final whistle it was just job done for the Irish lads. Time was we would have celebrated any win against the Boks like winning the World Cup. Now it's what the team expects of themselves.

It was a great rearguard action. Scramble defence was magnificent, breakdown top class. To absorb that much pressure is awesome- we did ride our luck at times but we were also incredibly clinical when we had chances. I reckon we only had 3 chances to engineer a score and we took 2. Springboks might have had 6 or 7.

Now onto Georgia, who lost today to the Tongans 23-9. All three tries in the final quarter.

It looks like Jared Payne was in some serious discomfort leaving the pitch so we could see D'Arcy or Olding feature. I was incredibly impressed by Henshaw today, he looks brilliant.

From the SA perspective, for all the size of your forwards, the only one who stepped up in my opinion was Duane Vermeulen. The rest were passengers for much of the game. Hougaard had an absolute nightmare.

Wow, even my the highest peak of deluded optimism did I ever expect a performance like that against that SA side. I thought we'd take time to get going, we didn't. I thought we'd eventually lose out in the physicality stakes, we didn't....apart from scrum time which was dealt with well.

That was fantastic, a monumental......no mental effort from every player today.

Well done lads, that was a massive, massive win, fantastic.

Wooohooooooo!!!!!

Now for more alcohol

I haven't seen the game yet, but WELL DONE IRELAND, fantastic win.

Notch wrote:I liked at the final whistle it was just job done for the Irish lads. Time was we would have celebrated any win against the Boks like winning the World Cup. Now it's what the team expects of themselves.

That is a very important point. Critical for the next 12 months. Ireland have certainly opened the game up over the next 10 months. I'm not sure the AB's would have beaten them today either...just a pity we don't play them this time. (or perhaps a godsend!)

Taylorman wrote:

Notch wrote:I liked at the final whistle it was just job done for the Irish lads. Time was we would have celebrated any win against the Boks like winning the World Cup. Now it's what the team expects of themselves.

That is a very important point. Critical for the next 12 months. Ireland have certainly opened the game up over the next 10 months. I'm not sure the AB's would have beaten them today either...just a pity we don't play them this time. (or perhaps a godsend!)

Paul O'Connell wrote:It’s a massive win, but I suppose that’s all it is, a Test win.

We've been here before. You're not measured on the great one-off wins you get. It's the Six Nations titles and World Cup performances. The All Blacks are number 1 because they back it up week after week. We've been pretty consistent under Schmidt but there is still a lot of hard work to be done for this team to reach its potential.

But tonight, Ireland can't win any trophies. All we can do is just enjoy the win and look forward to next week. So thats what I'll do!

Notch wrote:

The Saint wrote:A Schmidteam tend to outsmart their opposition quite often.

It's true he is quite a smart coach. Methodical. It's not going to win you every game but if you didn't know already you would really not guess which team had a lot of preparation time and which team only had two weeks based on that performance.

It was a very smart display, reminded me of the time Ireland last played Wales.

I guess if you take the 2 games three games this Week end then Ireland will be the team to look out for next year in the Rugby World Cup.

Although England and Wales lost by less than 7 points and won by a lot more than 7 points. Will be interesting for next years 6ns. Based on this week end it will Ireland all the way.

But then the Ais is not over in one week end is it.

Ah here, it's too early to say. Who knows?

Remember in 2006/2007 we beat South Africa, Australia and England very convincingly at home. Top class performances. No shows at the RWC.

I am quietly confident about our chances as we have avoided the big 3 and the host nation in the group phases. France, Italy, Canada and Romania is a kind enough draw, with Argentina being very likely to be waiting for the group winners in the quarter-finals. But there's a whole Six Nations to go before that.

To hell with the win...I'll talk about that later (loved it, loved it!!! )

No, I just want to say I was very impressed by the SA Coach and Captain speaking after the game. Not a shadow of excusing 'what ifs' attempted - just solid, dignified and gracious comments.

I always find little moments to remember games by that aren't necessarily game moments. Those two guys will be the moments I remember from this encounter.

Certainly were magnanimous in defeat and gracious in their comments. Wish them well for the rest of their tour.

SecretFly wrote:To hell with the win...I'll talk about that later (loved it, loved it!!! )

No, I just want to say I was very impressed by the SA Coach and Captain speaking after the game.  Not a shadow of excusing 'what ifs' attempted - just solid, dignified and gracious comments.

I always find little moments to remember games by that aren't necessarily game moments.  Those two guys will be the moments I remember from this encounter.

yes they were, and they usually are. Its clear they have a policy for after match speeches and 'rants' have clearly been ruled out. They do no one any good. Soooo hard to do though, especially when their fans are doing nothing else but!

pot. kettle. black.

Notch wrote:Ah here, it's too early to say. Who knows?

Remember in 2006/2007 we beat South Africa, Australia and England very convincingly at home. Top class performances. No shows at the RWC.

I am quietly confident about our chances as we have avoided the big 3 and the host nation in the group phases.  France, Italy, Canada and Romania is a kind enough draw, with Argentina being very likely to be waiting for the group winners in the quarter-finals. But there's a whole Six Nations to go before that.

I have a feeling that with our previous coaches the game would be seen as a job well done and the players would be praised behind the scenes for sticking to the gameplan, for putting their bodies on the line, for maintaining their defensive disciplin (it was a staggering effort to keep getting up and resuming shape over and over again.)............. and they'd be told they probably deserve a few pints to celebrate and relax after a job well done.

The thing is I think Schmidt will think about, and be vocal about, and will have already let them know that he wasn't happy with that last SA try.  Not happy at all - and that they'd hear about it on Monday in grim detail.

I was begging them not to loose shape or concentration, or to think of the happy clock that had gone past a SA comeback - but it happened, a last minute score happened that didn't need to happen had the guys kept seriously focused to the end.  
They had the ability to keep SA frustrated and to keep them out.  That would have been a big statement.  But that's the only thing that irked me - the ending.  Those are the scores that can kill all dreams in important games so you really do have to develop a desire to keep everything out regardless of a game being already won or not.  The good thing is that I know Schmidt will be as irritated as me by that last gap wilt.

Don't get me wrong, I'm over the moon and the players put in a tough and rewarding day at the office - but the really rewarding bit for me is that in Schmidt, I know we have a coach who won't cover up the bits that displeased him.

well done ireland! big result.

the RWC really is wide open.

quinsforever wrote:well done ireland! big result.

the RWC really is wide open.

]]

thankfully the Irish shouldnt feature in our world cup Thnkk fark for that

Well done Ireland! Haven't seen the game but it sounds like you played very intelligent rugby

Liked that lots...despite a cr.p return from the lineout and scrum we not only beat SA but a wider margin would not have been unjustified. I am not sure what they expected but once they started kicking for the corner and got nothing out of it the first time it was on for us. They never really threatened the try line outside of those occasions even though we were under pressure between our 10 metre line and 5 metre line a number of times.

Henshaw and Payne deserve a lot of credit and both showed their class at times in defence and with ball in hand. Neither turned over the ball and Henshaw while not quite like BOD is going to have a lot of Irish caps over time. Murray for me was outstanding and must be close to being the best SH in the world at this stage.....

Great win. Up to fourth in the rankings I believe. Really should be third. Best win I have seen over the Boks give their recent form I have to say.....Lots of room for improvement as well.

Yes there was a non upset feel to that win. I felt through most of the match SA were going to come back but in hindsight that was only because SA have done it often- Wales, Argie etc. In the end the loss was as much as SA not doing a lot but more importantly Ireland not allowing them too.

And this was a very good Bok side. Agree there are better things to come. (and good to see there's some good ol' kiwi influence in the mix) somewhere!)

ME-109 wrote:Liked that lots...despite a cr.p return from the lineout and scrum we not only beat SA but a wider margin would not have been unjustified. I am not sure what they expected but once they started kicking for the corner and got nothing out of it the first time it was on for us. They never really threatened the try line outside of those occasions even though we were under pressure between our 10 metre line and 5 metre line a number of times.

Henshaw and Payne deserve a lot of credit and both showed their class at times in defence and with ball in hand. Neither turned over the ball and Henshaw while not quite like BOD is going to have a lot of Irish caps over time. Murray for me was outstanding and must be close to being the best SH in the world at this stage.....

Great win. Up to fourth in the rankings I believe. Really should be third. Best win I have seen over the  Boks give  their recent form I have to say.....Lots of room for improvement as well.

u need to beat england or aus to really merit that 3rd irb ranking spot

that was a very bizarre yellow card. am just watching the highlights. crowd bought that one.

Well we have both at home in the next few months (Aus in a couple of weeks and France, Eng during the 6ns). After the display today we should be expecting to do well I think.

Well done Ireland. They thoroughly outplayed South Africa.

ME-109 wrote:Well we have both at home in the next few months (Aus in a couple of weeks and France, Eng during the 6ns). After the display today we should be expecting to do well I think.

ah..expectations...them's dangerous things...

quinsforever wrote:that was a very bizarre yellow card. am just watching the highlights. crowd bought that one.

Hard to know what Poite is thinking most of the time but he did mention it was the second time from Strauss (second time of what I am not sure)....dont really think Poite is one to be influenced by the crowd...

quinsforever wrote:u need to beat england or aus to really merit that 3rd irb ranking spot

Why? Are yis both third together? Oh my...................... getting cozy there, quins. Big men in a small cubicle...

love how ireland closed out the match vs SA after the yellow card. devastating attack and great tactical play.

apols if all this has been said 100 times already. i'm just getting to the end of the highlights

quinsforever wrote:

ME-109 wrote:Well we have both at home in the next few months (Aus in a couple of weeks and France, Eng during the 6ns). After the display today we should be expecting to do well I think.

ah..expectations...them's dangerous things...

Absolutely..but we have been here before...time to kick on this time...

SecretFly wrote:

quinsforever wrote:u need to beat england or aus to really merit that 3rd irb ranking spot

Why?  Are yis both third together?  Oh my...................... getting cozy there, quins.  Big men in a small cubicle...

we have been swapping 3rd and 4th for the last year. so it would make a bit of a mockery of the rankings if a team can jump both teams ahead of them without having beaten either...thats all i'm saying. but i understand how it can happen mathematically

ME-109 wrote:

quinsforever wrote:that was a very bizarre yellow card. am just watching the highlights. crowd bought that one.

Hard to know what Poite is thinking most of the time but he did mention it was the second time from Strauss (second time of what I am not sure)....dont really think Poite is one to be influenced by the crowd...

yes i heard that, he referred to the high tackle on heaslip. however that was vermeulen so strauss was definitely hard done by.

anyway, it was a big moment in the game but ireland definitely deserved the win. SA were error strewn and ireland were very very smart.

sexton is worth his weight in gold.

Second time Romain Poite has screwed us . Hate the bastard , really hope he never finds himself ruining any more games involving the springboks in the near future. Why cant they just clone Nigel Owens and distribute him around the world and make an extra "Argentian version" so he can ref Wales too. Problem Solved

This is only a nice weekend Saturday for us.  Allowing ourselves the glow....and why not, we've had some miserable years recently.  But I'd say at about 8.00 tomorrow morning the Irish will be back to what they do best - running down their own
No, we won't let this one go to our heads.  Georgia to come that could embarrass you if you wanted to phone in a performance for them - and then an old friend from way-back comes to visit with his new golden team.  That one should be spicey! - Two ex Leinster Coaches wanting to tactically and physically dominate the other.

But us....we'll be back to complaining, not about refs or TMO, but about us.  

So Bullsbok...would you suggest the loss was because of the ref? nothing to do with Strauss being a dimwit (and he knew it afterwards)....a bit harsh but not like a completely new thing for refs....

Bullsbok wrote:Second time Romain Poite has screwed us . Hate the bastard , really hope he never finds himself ruining any more games involving the springboks in the near future. Why cant they just clone Nigel Owens and distribute him around the world and make an extra "Argentian version" so he can ref Wales too. Problem Solved

To be honest he usually screws us as much as he screws you. When I knew it was him I sighed - so a bastard ref is obviously a relative thing!

SecretFly wrote:

Bullsbok wrote:Second time Romain Poite has screwed us . Hate the bastard , really hope he never finds himself ruining any more games involving the springboks in the near future. Why cant they just clone Nigel Owens and distribute him around the world and make an extra "Argentian version" so he can ref Wales too. Problem Solved

To be honest he usually screws us as much as he screws you.  When I knew it was him I sighed - so a bastard ref is obviously a relative thing!

Well at least POC had learned his lesson with him and didnt open his mouth against any decision. Usually Paulie annoys him no end so that was something....its usually worth two or three penalties to the opposing team.

A few harsh calls went against Ireland too that I can recall. I feared it might be the Polite show again but he didn't influence the match that much and he was fair for both sides. Unlike most refs Polite can never be accused of being a homer.

After all the doom mongering beforehand by the Irish media, it made the victory sweater.

I wouldn't be getting carried away with the performance but if Ireland can beat Australia then it confirms for me that the team has moved up a level.

I thought Henshaw and Payne were very good. They didn't get much ball but defended well. Speaking of possession, its amazing how dominated Ireland were in the set pieces but still came out with a win. The lineout won't be as bad again for a long time and the front row will get better with games under their belt.

dont really see how yellow was harsh. He wasnt even going for the ball. he deliberately took kearney out in the air. It wasnt the most dangerous aerial challeng but was clearly deliberate

Bullsbok wrote:Second time Romain Poite has screwed us . Hate the bastard , really hope he never finds himself ruining any more games involving the springboks in the near future. Why cant they just clone Nigel Owens and distribute him around the world and make an extra "Argentian version" so he can ref Wales too. Problem Solved

Absolute disgrace of a comment, seriously poor. Poite spent the best part of 60mins trying to keep a full compliment of SA players on the field. Is it really his fault that SA lost their cool?

Always have found SA fans to be pretty good and understanding but this takes the cake. Gladly I know that you are not a representative of SA fans.

ME-109 wrote:So Bullsbok...would you suggest the loss was because of the ref? nothing to do with Strauss being a dimwit (and he knew it afterwards)....a bit harsh but not like a completely new thing for refs....

Strauss being a dimwit? he barely touched Kearney. That was a cowpat card and if you don't see that then you are blinded by your bias.

Poite was looking to card us from the start, this is the second time in as many years where we have the same Poopie from this guy.

Nachos Jones wrote:

Bullsbok wrote:Second time Romain Poite has screwed us . Hate the bastard , really hope he never finds himself ruining any more games involving the springboks in the near future. Why cant they just clone Nigel Owens and distribute him around the world and make an extra "Argentian version" so he can ref Wales too. Problem Solved

Absolute disgrace of a comment, seriously poor. Poite spent the best part of 60mins trying to keep a full compliment of SA players on the field. Is it really his fault that SA lost their cool?

Always have found SA fans to be pretty good and understanding but this takes the cake. Gladly I know that you are not a representative of SA fans.

Nachos, you were begging for a yellow card from the start, best you say nothing.

Not seen the game yet but Well Done Ireland I for one didn't expect that result.