2023-09-23 22:58:16
Ireland won its showdown on Saturday at the Stade de France against South Africa (13-8) and thus consolidated its first place in Pool B as well as its status as the world’s leading nation. The Greens managed to resist the South African power, thus ratifying their status as favorites for this World Cup.
Published on: 09/23/2023 – 22:58
3 mn
The match between South Africa and Ireland, on September 23 at the Stade de France, begins at a crazy pace, with the Irish eager to quickly mark their opponents. In the 2nd minute, while they can choose to attempt a penalty to score the first 3 points of the match, they choose to take the touchline 10 meters from the South African line. A choice which turns out to be a losing one since the Springboks recover the ball and launch a counter-attack.
The Greens lost their first four balls in touch, losing precious attacking ammunition. They had a lot of difficulty at the start of the match to contain the very enterprising South Africans, rewarded by a penalty scored in the 5th minute by opener Manie Libbok (3-0). Courageous, the Irish gradually returned to the opposing camp but came up against the fierce South African defense.
The Springboks also showed all their power in attack, notably with the devastating charges of three-quarter center Damian de Allende. Suffocated, the Irish held on for many minutes, finally managing to return to the opposing camp in the 30th minute thanks to a great breakthrough from Bundee Aki. The Irish insisted and, after a good touch and a maul, the stainless Johnny Sexton failed a few centimeters from the try line. The action continued on the wing towards winger Mack Hansen who scored the first Irish try, transformed by Sexton (3-7).
Chelsin Kolbe’s response
Ireland was able to resist until the break, taking advantage in particular of the valuable scratches of their third row Josh van der Flier, best player in the world in 2022, who was able to stop several South African offensives. And the Irish returned to the locker room at the break with a slight advantage, at the end of a very fast-paced first half.
The Irish returned to the field with the same determination, like the defense of winger James Lowe on the colossal second row Eben Etzebeth in the 47th minute. In the process, the South African management made three changes in the pack, drawing on its rich bench of 7 forwards. The Irish were unable to do anything in the scrum which took place immediately afterwards and the South African rears benefited from excellent ammunition which they were able to take advantage of with a try from Chelsin Kolbe (8-7).
Gunner Johnny Sexton restored the advantage to his team on a penalty in the 59th minute (8-10). The Springboks suffered from clumsiness against the poles of Manie Libbok and Faf de Klerk. They relied on their forwards in the last ten minutes of play to try to defeat the extremely effective Irish defense. The Greens held on until the end, even scoring three more points on a penalty in the 77th minute thanks to James Crowley (8-13).
As in November 2022, the Irish therefore beat the reigning world champions. They thus confirm their status as favorites for this competition, signing a fifteenth consecutive victory in the process. They still have one group match to play against Scotland on October 7, a match they can approach with confidence after their solid performance against South Africa.
Read alsoFind the results and rankings of the World Cup
#Ireland #succeeds #defeating #South #Africa