Rugby Union Thriller as Ireland Succumb to Springboks in Pretoria
Pretoria, 11 June 2023 – In a gripping series opener, world champions South Africa edged out Ireland 27-20 in a hard-fought encounter at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria. The victory underlined the Springboks’ status as the top-ranked Test rugby nation, but it was far from a perfect performance according to their head coach Rassie Erasmus.
Ireland captain Peter O’Mahony acknowledged the team’s costly errors but remained upbeat, highlighting the positives in their performance against the formidable Springboks.
“It was a tough battle. We knew it was going to be very, very difficult here with the quality of South Africa,” O’Mahony told Sky Sports. “There are a lot of positives to take out of our performance, but little bits here and there, playing against a side as good as this – they are going to punish you.”
The Springboks raced into an early lead through a try by Kurt-Lee Arendse, but Ireland hit back quickly with a debut try from Jamie Osborne, set up by a magnificent offload from James Lowe. Fly-half Handre Pollard’s boot helped the home side take a 13-8 lead into the break.
In a breathless finale, the Springboks extended their advantage through a try by Cheslin Kolbe and a late penalty try, but Ireland replacements Conor Murray and Ryan Baird crossed the line to keep the match in the balance. Ultimately, the visitors were unable to overcome the Springboks’ resilience, handing the world champions their first victory over Ireland since 2016.
“Overall, the goal was achieved but it was far from a perfect performance,” Erasmus acknowledged. “Ireland are a team we’ve had zero success against since (we took over as a coaching staff in) 2018 and they’ve really had our number. I wouldn’t say it’s a monkey off our back, but it’s a really good competitive opponent, who are number two in the world, and any day they can step up and beat you and be number one.”
The series now moves to Durban for the second and final Test next weekend, where both sides will be eager to secure the series victory.
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