Port Elizabeth – Ireland coach Joe Schmidt bemoaned his team’s missed opportunities to create history in South Africa after they had the Springboks on the ropes for most of the three-Test series between the two sides.
After winning the first Test at Newlands, and then chucking away a 19-3 half-time lead at Ellis Park, Ireland were one win away from getting a first series win over the Boks in South Africa. However, they just couldn’t do the business in the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday evening.
“I’m massively disappointed. It’s 12 years since we’ve been in this country. To grab the opportunity last week, to have it in our hand and to be pickpocketed the way we were in the second game with a superb South African comeback,” the New Zealander said on Saturday night.
“And then today to have so much energy into a game after a 52-week season is testament to the fortitude of the players. But when you don’t get what you’re looking for, you’re always going to be disappointed particularly when it was such a fine margin at the end of it.â€
Ireland certainly had their chances on Saturday. In fact they had three top opportunities to score tries. But one wayward pass and two intercepts by Springbok scrumhalf Faf de Klerk helped the home side to a famous come-from-behind series win.
“We showed a bit of inexperience to be honest,” the Ireland coach said.
“What could have happened, what might have happened is something that those players will have learned. I think that there’s a 14-point swing just before half-time when we make a great break up the pitch, we’re one pass away from putting Keith Earls away and the pass isn’t efficiently delivered and we miss the opportunity with the forward pass.
“Faf du Klerk leaping to get that ball, there’s not too many people around him and with a little bit of patience we could have made the most of that opportunity. The maul at that time was still upright and potentially could have kept going, I thought it was a great option to swing back and attack that short side with good numbers but you’ve got to be clinical; you’ve got to be efficient in your execution, because in a Test match you don’t get too many invitations. We got a couple of nice invites tonight that we didn’t turn up for.”
Schmidt was diplomatic about Bok fullback Willie le Roux’s yellow card, which could have easily been a red after his mid-air collision with Ireland fullback Tiernan O’Halloran, who fell hard on the top part of his back.
But Schmidt seemed upset Le Roux didn’t receive the same punishment as his flanker CJ Stander, who was shown red at Newlands for a collision with Pat Lambie.
Le Roux got a one-week suspension for the challenge yesterday.
“Look, I don’t really make comments on those incidents. I let other people deal with them.” - The Star