Ireland World Cup dreams remain on course after massive win over South Africa
IT would be easy for Ireland players, management and fans to get carried away after they secured a huge win over South Africa on Saturday night. It would be easy to start celebrating now and think they have a Quarter-Final spot in the bag. However, it’s important to stay grounded and stay focused because there’s still one more big obstacle in the way of Scotland, who will know that a win against the Irish puts them right in the mix for a spot in the semi-finals so despite an impressive win for the Irish against South Africa there is still more to do.
They can celebrate a hugely important win against South Africa though, prior to the game, South Africa were number two in the world and Ireland knew they were in for a tough match. They had had it easy up until then, racking up massive wins against Romania and Tonga respectively. Especially with the power the South Africans had on the bench, there was cause for concern so there were nerves around. Everybody was expecting a huge game for the first big test the Irish had in the tournament. Ireland’s 13-8 win against South Africa was their 16th successive win and is likely to be a huge confidence booster going deep into the tournament.
South Africa were architects of their own downfall in a way, missing crucial kicks in the second half that could have ensured them the win. Faf de Klerk missed a penalty whilst Mannie Libbok missed the conversion to the South African try in the second half, before missing a penalty each. In such a tight game, every single point counts and ultimately, it cost the Springboks. Despite all the missed kicks, they had a chance to at least draw at the end with a lineout inside the 22 and tried to maul it over the line but ultimately they couldn’t convert it with Ireland winning a penalty from it. Bundee Aki once again was the difference maker for Ireland and has been the player of the tournament so far, his impact has been second to none and he has been unstoppable. He will surely play a huge role in the games to come.
Speaking after their bonus point win over Tonga, Scotland coach, Gregor Townsend remarked “apparently they’re already in the quarter-final,” speaking about Ireland and nobody giving his side a chance. They enjoyed a 45-17 win over the big hitting Tongans and know that if they secure a bonus point against Romania on Saturday night and beat Ireland, denying them a bonus point, they will qualify for the Quarter-Final at the expense of the Irish. They will fancy their chances as underdogs going into the game, having ruffled South Africa earlier in the tournament. It will be a big ask for the Scots though who lost to Ireland earlier in the year in the Six Nations. They have some quality players and had they been in a different group, they may have stood a chance at a Quarter-Final spot but it will likely be too big an ask for them to try and beat an Ireland side full of confidence and on such a roll, especially when they have yet to beat any of the top four in the past couple of years.
If anybody can do it though, it is Scotland and the two sides will meet in two weeks time with Ireland having a break week this week. Scotland did look impressive against Tonga, scoring seven tries with Finn Russell playing a starring role. They had seven different scorers which was impressive, especially given four changes were made. They are an exciting side with plenty of exciting players but their world ranking of 5 shows exactly where they stand, they don’t quite possess the quality and the ability to win against a top four side. However, they are a young side who are improving all the time and possibly deserve a Quarter-Final spot but for a tricky pool draw.
England won big against the lowest ranked side in the competition, Chile on Saturday afternoon, winning 71-0 in possibly their best performance of the tournament so far. With several changes made, it was a chance for the younger players and the fringe players to show what they can do and stake a claim for a spot for a spot in the side going forward. One such player to do that was Henry Arundell who scored five tries, equalling the record set by Josh Lewsey. Marcus Smith was immense too in creating chances and opening up spaces in an unfamiliar role as full-back. Owen Farrell made his first appearance since he was suspended and struggled slightly with his kicking, in particular from the right. He was a little rusty and it’s something that they will want to improve on going forward.
The other major result of the weekend came in the form of Australia all but being knocked out of the World Cup after they lost 40-6 against Wales. It’s been a massive fall of grace for Australia over the past year. They lost all four games in the Rugby Championship, being on the end of hammerings from South Africa and New Zealand before losing to Fiji and now Wales. Under the leadership of Eddie Jones, Australia have gone backwards. Last Autumn they were competitive but Jones’ decisions including dropping former captain and back rower, Michael Hooper have caused great controversy. It’s unlikely he’ll survive after the tournament. A major rebuild of Australian rugby is needed, especially with a big four years ahead; They host the Lions in two years time and the World Cup in four. The round opened with Italy beating Uruguay 38-17. It’s been a great World Cup so far for Italy who have won against Namibia and Uruguay with bonus points and are top of their group. However, they still have to face New Zealand and France. Given Uruguay’s performance against France, many would have hoped that they could pull off an upset against Italy but the European side got across the line. The hosts, France beat Namibia 96-0 to silence any critics they had after the Uruguay game. They did however suffer an injury to captain Antoine Dupont and it remains to see how long he will be out. Argentina edged past Samoa 19-10 whilst Portugal were denied a first ever World Cup win after a 18-18 draw with Georgia.
