Ireland v Springboks: Winners & losers as Irish ‘illegalities’ exposed, James Ryan’s dogshot and fortunate Feinberg-Mngomezulu
Ireland's Andrew Porter and Springboks' Damian de Allende.
Following the Springboks’ 24-13 victory over Ireland in Dublin, here are our winners and losers.
Winners
The Springboks scrum
Sixteen scrum feeds, eight penalties won and two yellow cards issued to Irish front-rowers. Dominant doesn’t begin to describe just how effective the Springboks scrum was on Saturday evening in Dublin. It was a massacre.
Boan Venter and Thomas du Toit set the tone early on, shunting Tadhg Furlong and Andrew Porter backwards at the rate of knots, and Gerhard Steenekamp and Wilco Louw picked up from where they left off.
It was a jaw-dropping display, and times looked as if the Boks were scrummaging against a schoolboy outfit.
Some will argue that it was against the spirit of the game and an indication that World Rugby must work harder to depower the influence of the scrum. But South Africa had a clear advantage over the Irish and opted to make the most of it time and time again.
After his pack’s efforts on Saturday, Daan Human shouldn’t pay for another drink in Bloemfontein for the rest of his life.
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu
The luck of the Irish was certainly on Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s side in the early knockings of the encounter. The Springboks’ golden boy thundered into Ireland winger Tommy O’Brien and looked set to become the third South African to be sent off in as many weeks.
His challenge lacked a wrap, and he made head-high contact. The passiveness of his hit may well have been his saving grace.
Considering how other decisions have gone this November, Feinberg-Mngomezulu is incredibly fortunate that he was allowed to remain on the park and go on to score a stunning try in the victory.
Boan Venter
Many South African fans would not have even known the name Boan Venter at the start of the year, but the Edinburgh loosehead announced himself to the world in brutal fashion in Dublin.
It was his eighth Test cap for the Springboks and by far his most impressive showing as he obliterated three-time British and Irish Lions tourist Furlong.
Du Toit deserves praise for his efforts on the other side of the scrum, which certainly helped Venter dominate in the manner that he did, but the 28-year-old certainly deserves the plaudits that are coming his way.
To think, had he not got a call-up now, it’s entirely possible that he would have played for Scotland. Instead, he is living his boyhood dream of donning the Green and Gold jersey and did so with extreme distinction in a famous win.
Malcolm Marx
Not only did Malcolm Marx claim the Man of the Match Award after another world-class display, but in the changing rooms after he was handed the World Rugby Men’s Player of the Year Award by Springboks great Victor Matfield.
The brilliant hooker claims the gong seven years after his first nomination and becomes the first front-rower since Keith Wood in 2001, the inaugural winner, to be named the world’s best.
Against Ireland and for most of the year, Marx has been the focal point of the Springboks’ forward dominance and richly deserves the award.
Irish mentality
For the majority of the match, Ireland were reduced by at least one player and were down to 12 men at one stage, but still managed to finish within two converted tries of winning.
It’s clutching at straws somewhat, considering just how dominant the Springboks were, but Andy Farrell’s men can certainly tap themselves on the back for never giving up as they remained in the dogfight right to the bitter end.
They were issued five cards on the night and were fortunate that the number didn’t rise any further, but to spend that much time being outnumbered against the best team in the world and be on the end of a 30, 40 or 50 point thrashing is a rather remarkable effort.
“It was a tough game and having that many scrums wasn’t pleasing on the neck, but they are a quality side with a quality pack, so obviously, we had to grind it out and apply as much pressure as we could to get the rewards from it,” Bok hooker Marx said after the game.
“They did extremely well in the second half to hold us out, and we had a few penalties, but they are a quality side and they showed that on the field.”
Matthew Carley
Irish fans may not agree with this one, but English referee Matthew Carley managed the game as best he could under challenging circumstances.
The non-punishment of Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s tackle was baffling, and he did take a much kinder approach to James Ryan’s act of thuggery than other officials have to Springbok offences this month, but on the whole, he managed the sh*tshow as best he could.
It’s certainly not his fault that Ireland were so ill-disciplined and could not get a foothold in the scrums, and he did let quite a few things slide to get some sort of rhythm into the match.
The likes of Nigel Owens and Owen Doyle will run the rule over his performances; the latter will surely be far more bullish and brutal than the former, but Ireland did not make Doyle’s job any easier.
Losers
Ireland’s British and Irish Lions front-row
There is a saying that is quickly growing in popularity, that “the scrum doesn’t matter until it does”, and on Saturday, nothing mattered more as it proved to be the Springboks’ route to victory.
Loosehead prop Porter is often thrown into the spotlight because of his scrummaging illegalities, and while he often gets away with it, every now and then, he is exposed, and it costs Ireland dearly. Against the Springboks, that was the case as Du Toit and Louw painted the right pictures and dominated the Leinster front-rower, so much so that Carley simply couldn’t ignore it.
His struggles on the left-hand side severely impacted Tadhg Furlong on the right, who was also manhandled in a manner few looseheads have ever managed against the veteran tighthead.
The sheer number of scrums took the punch out of the Irish front-row around the park, too, with Dan Sheehan being far less impactful than he usually is, while his opposite number Marx thrived.
James Ryan
The worst of Ireland was on full display on Saturday, emphasised by James Ryan’s dogshot on Marx in the build-up to what was a cracking try by Tadhg Beirne.
We were tempted to list Ryan amongst the winners, as he escaped a permanent red card for his act of thuggery, but he is bound to get suspended for his actions – we think.
This isn’t a one-off action from the Irish lock who played his part in a similarly horrific incident against the Springboks just 18 months ago, when he and Doris thundered recklessly into a ruck which ultimately led to Marx sustaining a tibia fracture.
While the Bok hooker escaped this incident unscathed, Ryan’s actions were just as reckless and illegal. He had a clear line of sight on Marx, planted himself while tucking his arm before launching shoulder-first into the South African.
World Rugby
The bigwigs would not have been enjoyed the scenes in Dublin in the slightest, as time and time again, Siya Kolisi and Pieter-Steph du Toit ordered scrum after scrum.
World Rugby have made no bones about the fact that they are attempting to limit the influence on the set-piece and have gone about depowering the scrum with law tweaks in an effort to speed up the game.
The first half in Dublin took almost a full hour, and the second laboured on in a similar manner. While many will point the finger at the Springboks for this one, Ireland have to share the blame as they were simply woeful in that area of the game. It would be a dereliction of duty if the South Africans disarmed their most lethal weapon on the night, simply to produce a better spectacle. They play to win, and win they did.