What a comeback! The Springboks were down and out, but a clutch of Lions substitutes inspired the home side to an incredible 32-26 victory over Ireland at Ellis Park on Saturday.
Bok coach Allister Coetzee will breathe a sigh of relief, as the Boks stayed alive in the three-Test series, with the decider at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth next weekend.
The Irish were 19-3 ahead at halftime, and it looked like Joe Schmidt’s side were well on their way to an historic first ever series triumph on South African soil as the Boks were booed off the field at the break.
But the arrival of Lions wing Ruan Combrinck, on his home ground, at halftime as a replacement for Lwazi Mvovo sparked the Boks into life. Combrinck finished off brilliantly after fullback Willie le Roux cut the defence to shreds with a lightning break from the halfway line, and found Combrinck out wide.
The blond-haired speedster handed off a defender to bring the Boks back at 19-10 early in the second half.
The visitors, though, weren’t done yet, though, as Irish No 8 Jamie Heaslip barged over from a five-metre lineout, which put his team 26-10 ahead with 20 minutes to go.
But then Lions captain Warren Whiteley – who came on for an injured Duane Vermeulen (left bicep) at No 8 at halftime – gave the Boks wonderful continuity with ball-in-hand, and it seemed to galvanise the home team and give them the belief that they could rid themselves of the first-half handling “disease”.
The Boks lacked urgency throughout the opening 40 minutes as they made a number of handling errors. The Irish managed to rip the ball out of the Boks’ grasp a few times, with Siya Kolisi, Adriaan Strauss and Damian de Allende unable to hold on inside the Irish 22 as the Boks at last put some phases together.
The South African forwards weren’t accurate at the breakdown either, and gave away a number of penalties that was punished by flyhalf Paddy Jackson, who didn’t miss a kick to put Ireland 12-3 ahead after 28 minutes.
Then disaster struck for the Boks when left wing Lwazi Mvovo failed to control a bouncing ball inside his own 22, and opposite number Andrew Trimble knocked it backwards. Fullback Jared Payne nearly got through, but the ball was recycled for giant lock Devin Toner to crash over in the 35th minute.
But it was that man Whiteley who brought the Boks back into the game in the 63rd minute. Combrinck surged down the right flank before Whiteley stepped past two tackles to take the score to 26-15.
The Boks had regained the momentum as the Irish ran out of steam at altitude, and from a five-metre scrum, lock Pieter-Steph du Toit crashed over to bring the Boks to within four points of the visitors at 26-22 with 10 minutes to go.
The South Africans were on the front foot, and it was almost inevitable that they would take the lead, with revitalised centre Damian de Allende – who missed a number of tackles in the first half – bashing his way through a few tackles to score the winning try off a multi-phase attack.
It was almost too little too late for the Boks when Coetzee made the changes and brought on the bench, so hopefully he’ll heed those lessons when he selects his team for next weekend’s decider in PE.
POINTS-SCORERS
Springboks – Tries: Ruan Combrinck, Warren Whiteley, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Damian de Allende. Conversions: Elton Jantjies (3). Penalties: Jantjies (2).
Ireland – Tries: Devin Toner, Jamie Heaslip. Conversions: Paddy Jackson (2). Penalties: Jackson (4).
@IndyCapeSport