Key events
51 min: A load of good that did. South Africa give away a penalty at the scrum.
50 min: Here comes the Bomb Squad. South Africa makes six changes to the pack as all six replacements enter the scene. The entire tight five is switched as well as a flank.
50 min: Line-out for South Africa and Mostert catches it clean and looks to ignite a move down the line. But Kriel can’t hold on after collecting a flat pass at pace.
49 min: Kriel chucks a hopeful off-load to Arendse who can’t gather in the left tram. That’s from a brilliant carry and delayed pass from du Toit – who is having a great game – and another promising opportunity fizzles out for the Boks.
48 min: Kriel is bundled into touch on Ireland’s 22. South Africa have had all the ball but haven;t done much with it. But they have it back as Kelleher misses his jumper and Smith pinches the loose ball.
47 min: Another miss from Pollard. That was easier than the one he shanked earlier. Will South Africa regret that?
45 min: There’s a penalty for South Africa after Kolisi carries with enormous strength, bringing multiple Irish defenders with him. A great leg drive has South African charging forward and that invariably leads to a a defender straying off-side. Now Pollard has the chance to add three points to his tally.
44 min: South Africa are getting close. Going coast to coast, picks and goes aplenty but Beirne picks an interception! Incredible defence from Ireland. Not clinical enough from South Africa. A big hit from Osborne on de Klerk forced the speculative pass. Ireland clear close to half-way.
42 min: A slick tip-on from le Roux as the defence rushed forward finds Arendse. South Africa have started brightly and there’s a penalty against Aki who barges over the man on the ground, but from the side. He’s not happy about it. Pollard nudges to the corner. Five out with this line-out.
41 min: Sheehan is off after picking up a knock to his knee in the first half. Kelleher isn’t a bad replacement, mind. Ringriose also replaces Henshaw.
And we’re back! Ireland need a bit more spark. Can they find it?
Although, John Ryan isn’t impressed:
“Before we hear all the talk about what a great, physical, test it was, let’s have some context: South Africa have had all the possession and done nothing with it since the try, and Ireland can’t even kick their penalties from in front of the posts. If these are the two best teams in rugby at the moment we can pack it up now till September…”
I think that’s harsh. I rather enjoyed that.
Back in a few.
Half-time: South Africa 13-8 Ireland
South Africa try and run it after the hooter but they’re turned over and Crowley kicks it out to bring the half to a close.
I thought that was brilliant! Intense, high energy, some quality and great defence. Little to choose between them.
40 min: Pollard misses his shot. That does’t happen to often.
39 min: Penalty for South Africa. Porter coughing up his second penalty again, this time for illegally disrupting the half-back from an off-side position. Pollard will take aim at the posts.
38 min: Mostert brings down a line-out and Mbonambi gets the rumble on from the back of a maul. There’s a brilliant tackle from Aki who stays upright and wins a turnover from a separate maul in midfield. Lowe unfurls a monster kick down field.
TRY! South Africa 13-8 Ireland (Osborne, 36)
Try on debut! They’re going to check this but it’s good. Lowe shows immense strength to take the strong hit from Kolbe close to the line, keep his feet and off-load for Osborne rushing through to support. The full-back gathers the pass and dives in the corner for a moment he’ll never forget. Excellent from Ireland with a world class contribution from Lowe.
Crowley can’t convert from the touchline.
34 min: Ireland keep it tight and take it close. Porter then Dorris carry. There’s an attempted off-load to Lowe that doesn’t come off but Ireland keep the ball. They’ve been pushed back to about 15 metres out though they come again.
33 min: Another penalty for Ireland as Kriel strays off side from the South African drop-out. This time Crowley kicks it into touch. Ireland will have the line-out throw about seven out from the Boks line.
32 min: Crowley misses his kick! That wasn’t a gimme but it certainly wasn’t a tough chance. Should have landed that.
30 min: After a lengthy delay following the penalty, we’re back with Smith carrying into contact from the restart. De Klerk box kicks and now Ireland have the ball with Furlong. Dorris carries well. Van der Flier takes it close to the 22 and Mbonambi gives away a penalty at the breakdown. Harsh perhaps, but that’s how it goes sometimes. Crowley points to poles.
PENALTY! South Africa 13-3 Ireland (Pollard 29)
He doesn’t miss those. A 10 point lead for the world champs. And to be fair, they’re good value for it. Ireland need to get their hands on the ball.
28 min: Porter tackles de Klerk at the base of a ruck while still on the floor. Can’t do that so Pollard will get a relatively easy shot at goal.
27 min: Pollard lifts a high kick and between de Allende and Kriel they retain possession. Le Roux floats a pass to no one but Kolbe keeps it alive. Eventually Ireland pinch it but the kick from Crowley goes straight out of touch after he received a pass from outside his 22. That means South Africa get the line-out throw inside the 22.
25 min: Ireland’s scrum takes an age and everntually South Africa give away a free kick. Not sure why to be honest. Does anyone know what actually takes place at scrum time? Either way, Ireland clear and South Africa have the line-out feed.
22 min: South Africa go right then left off the scrum but don’t make much ground. Le Roux floats a pass that looked forward which lands in Sheehan’s breadbasket. Crowley kicks and le Roux does well under pressure before de Allende bounces off two tacklers. A little ragged from both until du Tout canters 20 metres up field and links with Kolbe who steps back infield. South Africans are swarming forward but there’s a knock-on at the back of the ruck as Crowley disrupts de Klerk’s ball.
21 min: From the line-out, Crowley lifts a high kick that causes confusion in the Springboks ranks. Osborne and Nash give chase but there’s an Irish knock-on. Scrum to South Africa just inside Irish territory on the left flank.
20 min: Le Roux lands a cross-kick on a dime, bounced it just inside the touchline as it trickles out of touch just short of the 22. Line-out to Ireland.
19 min: At the third time of asking Smith grabs a restart and de Klerk hoofs to halfway. Sheehan gets the ball to throw to the line but hesitates and is penalised for delaying. So Pollard get the chance to kick clear.
PENALTY! South Africa 10-3 Ireland (Pollard, 18)
South Africa extend their lead with Pollard doing what Pollard does. More dominance in contact has South Africa winning a penalty within range.
15 min: Kolisi runs over Henshaw, obliterating him as he carried into contact. That was monstrous! There’s a break in play as Henshaw needs medical attention so we’ll get going again with a Springboks scrum just over half-way.
15 min: Osborne does well under pressure to keep the ball on side in his 22. The young lad has stood up so far. Crowley then clears for a SA line-out.
PENALTY! South Africa 7-3 Ireland (Crowley, 13)
Ireland on the board despite the boos. Crowley doesn’t mind the hate as he slots an effortless shot from about 40 metres.
12 min: Another penalty for Ireland. Smith gets in to pinch the ball but Nche, who made the big tackle on Beirne, doesn’t roll away in time.
10 min: Pollard kicks away possession in the hope of a better chase, but over-cooks it so Lowe can field and dot behind his line. Smith – for the second time in the game – spills a restart so it’s back to Ireland who also get a penalty after a Arendse held on.
9 min: That is a monstrous kick from Kolbe. My goodness, what a player. It’s a great scrum from Ireland and Smith, on his own line, is forced to pick up and carry. He flings a pass to Kolbe who catches and kicks a 50 metre bomb. Osborne makes a mess of it so it’ll be a South African throw on halfway.
7 min: Ireland knock-on a metre out and there’s a bit of argy-bargy afterwards. Great defence from South Africa on the line.
6 min: Ireland are a metre out. Porter then Beirne come close. They have the advantage for an off-side. Some big hits from the Saffas but a great response from Ireland. Looks like they’re shaping up to tap and go.
5 min: Smith drops a goober from the restart so Ireland will have the feed to the line-out inside South Africa’s 22.
TRY! South Africa 7-0 Ireland (Arendse, 3)
Outstanding! Arendse scores a stunner. It starts with du Toit charging down the right flank before it gets recycled back down the the line to the left wing. Le Roux injected pace in the attack, quick hands from Kriel and Kolisi and Arendse is away, before stepping off his left leg and ghosting round Osborne. Clinical.
Pollard caps it off with a sweetly struck conversion.
2 min: Ireland with the early carries but there’s a rip from Kwagga Smith to steal possession. Now South Africa get through their phases until Pollard hoists a high kick that is expertly fielded by Osborne.
PEEEEEEEP! Here we go!
Allegiances aside, the South African anthem is a banger. That was mighty from the Pretoria faithful.
Time for the anthems.
Ireland will be playing in their traditional green jerseys. The Springboks will be in their changed strip if white with turquoise trim.
Three Zulu ‘warriors’ have screamed onto the pitch. They’re absolute units! If the Boks have an injury crisis one of these lads could certainly do a job.
First they’d need to put a shirt on and put their spears down.
The players are making their way out to the field.
They pass under a sign that reads, “Altitude. 1 350m. It matters”.
That’s a reminder that up on the Highveld, where Pretoria is located, the air is thin and lungs burn.
Jamie Osborne has played 17 times for Leinster this season. Not once has he played at 15.
So sticking him at full-back, on debut, in a position that isn’t his first choice, against the Springboks, in Pretoria, is either a genius move from Farrell or a reckless Hail-Mary.
That’s not to say that South Africa will necessarily hoist high kicks on him at every turn. That’s not really their game. But I do expect the young lad to get tested at various points.
The last time Ireland played in Pretoria Rassie Erasmus was playing and scored a try in a 33-0 win.
Mark McCall, Saracens’ coach, started at 13 for Ireland with the great Joost van der Westhuizen starring at scrum-half for the Boks.
One for Irish fans:
Here’s Rob Kitson’s report from their 13-8 win at the Stade de France nine months ago.
I was there. It was a blockbuster game. A classic in a tournament stacked with classics. I don’t want to jinx it but I reckon we’re in for something special again this afternoon.
File this under B for Bantz
I might be biased, but this is the main event today.
But if you’re feeling a little peckish before we get stuck in, why not nibble on some of this:
Away from rugby, South Africa and Ireland have a wonderful relationship.
Ireland is the only country in the European Union that allows South African passport holders to enter without a visa. Irish politicians were among the first to oppose apartheid in South Africa. While still in prison and on the UK’s terrorist watchlist in 1988, Nelson Mandela was awarded the Freedom of the City of Dublin. In March this year, Ireland’s was the first government to back South Africa’s case of genocide against Israel at the international court of justice.
But this rivalry has been stirred, and frothed, and shaken by players, coaches and trolls online.
In this piece from a few weeks back, I made the case that it is now (possibly) rugby’s hottest relationship.
What do you think?
Will Ireland’s play-makers come to the party?
There’s no Johnny Sexton at fly-half. He’s retired. There’s no Jamison Gibson-park at scrum-half. He’s injured. There’s no Hugo Keenan at full-back. He’s with the Ireland sevens team.
That’s a lot of missing nous. And for a team that relies on cohesion and intricate patterns, it could be the difference today.
Not that Ireland are fielding mugs in those key positions. Jack Crowley and Craig – at 10 and 9 respectively – have performed to a high level for their for their clubs. But this is a big step up and will no doubt be targets for South Africa’s loose forwards.
Then there’s Jamie Osborne at full-back, making his debut against the world champions. Good luck fella.
Otherwise it’s a formidable outfit with a mighty centre pairing of Bundee Aki and Robbie Henshaw, as well as a settled pack, that will cause havoc all afternoon.
Ireland: Osborne; Nash, Henshaw, Aki, Lowe; Crowley, Casey; Porter, Sheehan, Furlong, McCarthy, Beirne, O’Mahony (c), van der Flier, Doris.
Replacements: Kelleher, Healy, Bealham, Ryan, Baird, Murray, Frawley, Ringrose.
Springboks bring out their big guns
The world champions are picking up right where they left off in France last year.
All 15 of their starting players were involved in the final against New Zealand in Paris with familiar faces on the bench.
This is not a side in transition but one taking aim at a scalp they desperately want.
Siya Kolisi has come under criticism for his domestic form but is a different animal when wearing green.
Keep an eye out for young Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu off the bench who can cover any position from 10 to 15.
South Africa: le Roux; Kolbe, Kriel, de Allende, Arendse; Pollard, de Klerk; Nche, Mbonambi, Malherbe, Etzebeth, Mostert, Kolisi (c), du Toit, Smith.
Replacements: Marx, Steenkamp, Koch, Moerat, Snyman, van Staden, Williams, Feuinberg-Mngomezulu.
Preamble
Daniel Gallan
If you need me to hype this one up, you haven’t been paying attention.
But just in case, let’s set the table.
It’s the back-to-back world champions against the back-to-back Six Nations winners. It’s the top two ranked teams on the planet backed by supporters who believe that their boys are the undisputed leaders in rugby. It’s Rassie Erasmus versus Andy Farrell. It’s Eben Etzebeth versus Tadgh Beirne. It’s Pieter-Steph du Toit up against Josh van der Flier. Bundee Aki and Robbie Henshaw against Jesse Kriel and Damian de Allende. South African muscle and sense of mission against the craft and purpose of Ireland.
They’re calling this a friendly but I assure you it’ll be ferocious!
Ireland beat South Africa at the World Cup last year. In fact, they’ve beaten the Boks in their last three games and haven’t lost to them since 2016.
What’s more, the discourse in the build up has teetered on the brink of nasty with players, past and present, amplifying the animosity that has organically developed.
It’s all a bit of fun, of course, and is a consequence of the respect both outfits command. At the risk of veering into hyperbole, this is Test rugby at its best and Loftus Versfeld, a hostile arena at the best of times, is going to be frothing by the time the opening whistle sounds.
I cannot wait!
My name is Daniel/Dan. Do get in touch with an email.
Kick off at 5pm in South Africa/4pm BST.
Teams and updates to come.