Gritty Springboks not yet in sync, admits coach Rassie Erasmus after Test win over Ireland

PRETORIA – South Africa coach Rassie Erasmus said his world No. 1 side had to show plenty of grit in their hard-fought 27-20 first Test win over Ireland on July 6 because they were not yet completely in sync.

The result ended the Springboks’ three-match losing streak against the world’s second-ranked team.

“We all knew that it was going to be a close game and although we controlled things really well in terms of speed, it was still a real grind for us,” he said after the match in Pretoria.

“I am satisfied, but there is a lot of hard work to be done. With players in Japan, the United Rugby Championship and England, sometimes it is difficult to get them all in sync.”

Ireland had a second-half try by wing James Lowe disallowed by Welsh television match official (TMO) Ben Whitehouse due to an earlier ruck infringement by replacement hooker Ronan Kelleher at Loftus Versfeld Stadium.

The 31-year-old New Zealand native was then at the centre of another tight call by Whitehouse when a 65th-minute try from Springboks wing Cheslin Kolbe was allowed.

Lowe leapt to try and keep a penalty kick by fly-half Handre Pollard in play, flicking it back onto the pitch.

But Kolbe, showing superb pace and anticipation, darted forward, hacked the ball ahead and scored to give the reigning world champions a 20-8 lead after the conversion.

After reviewing the incident numerous times, Whitehouse ruled that Lowe had released the ball before his foot touched the ground in touch.

Referring to the Kolbe try, Ireland coach Andy Farrell said: “It is not for me to say if the TMO was right or wrong, but I did have dubious thoughts about it.

“It was a difficult game to referee and sometimes it goes for you and sometimes it does not. But we showed a huge amount of character.”

Erasmus said: “We were far from perfect tonight, we were lucky and Cheslin’s try was the one that put them away. Ireland never gave up, though, it was a very stop-start game for both teams.”

Farrell hailed his team for coming so close to victory after a first half in which they were dominated and trailed 13-8.

In the second half, the 2024 Six Nations champions recovered from being under intense early pressure to constantly nip at the Springboks’ heels and give them a hard time.

“In the first half we were just off, we (allowed) them to play their game, we were a bit passive in defence,” said Farrell.

“But there were strong words at half-time, and this team showed just how courageous they are.

“We got ourselves back in the game because we just would not go away.”

The second and final Test will be played in Durban on July 13.

Also on July 6, France coach Fabien Galthie said his side “ticked a lot of boxes” after a much-changed team eased past Argentina 28-13 in Mendoza in Felipe Contepomi’s first game in charge of the hosts.

Captain Baptiste Serin as well as debutants Antoine Frisch and Theo Attissogbe crossed for tries for Les Bleus, who were without star scrum-half Antoine Dupont as he prepares to play sevens at the Paris Olympics.

Replacement centre Matias Orlando was Los Pumas’ only try-scorer as former fly-half Contepomi tasted defeat, having taken over from Michael Cheika after the 2023 Rugby World Cup, where Argentina lost to England in the third-place play-off.

“We ticked a lot of boxes which allowed us to win the game,” Galthie told Canal Plus.

“Not everything was perfect, we can improve a few things, I think we can play with a bit more freedom. You can consider this a great match from us.”

In Ottawa, Gus Warr, Dylan Richardson and Arron Reed each scored two tries to lead Scotland to a 73-12 rout over hosts Canada in a Test match on July 6.

The Scottish squad set a record with 10 players earning their first caps, breaking the old mark of eight debuts against Tonga in 2021, and crushed their rivals before a crowd of 11,447. AFP