Ireland Player Ratings vs. Springboks: Gallant Effort Not Enough
Ireland Player Ratings vs. Springboks: Gallant Effort Not Enough
Ireland player ratings vs. Springboks, as Andy Farrell's side loses to Rassie Erasmus' world champions at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin for the first time.
Andy Farrell’s Ireland let slip its impressive home record against the Springboks with an error-strewn 24-13 defeat at the Aviva Stadium.
Conceding 18 penalties, four yellow cards and a red card, Ireland somehow entered the closing stages of the fixture within touching distance of the world champions.
This was despite being blitzed time and again at scrum time, which saw both of their loosehead props sent to the sin bin.
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Additionally, both of the Irish fly-halves endured a stint in the sin bin, while James Ryan was shown red for a reckless cleanout attempt.
To its credit, Ireland never threw in the towel and repelled wave after wave of Springboks attacks, despite the numbers disadvantage and a rather significant injury toll.
In the end, the Springboks’ suffocating power game proved too much, as the world champions ticked off their final bucket list activity with a victory in Dublin.
Here is how the Irish players fared:
1. Andrew Porter – 3
Unfortunately for Porter, Leinster and Ireland, the jury is in that referees believe when the pressure comes on, he caves in, and so it proved under the weight of a gargantuan Springboks scrummaging performance.
Conceding four penalties and a yellow card, Porter has become a liability for Farrell’s side since the 2023 World Cup.
Around the park, he remains a force, making 12 tackles, five carries and piling on the pressure at the breakdown.
2. Dan Sheehan – 5
Returning to reality, a week removed from enjoying a 100% win rate (albeit one was very messy) against the Wallabies, Sheehan and the Irish line-out struggled to pick their spots around the abundance of Springbok jumpers.
Around the park, he was unusually quiet with four tackles, six carries and just one defender beaten, but he crucially scored Ireland’s try.
3. Tadhg Furlong – 7
Held up his end of the bargain, but unfortunately, he was undone by both of his looseheads getting blown up.
Around the park, he got through tons of work, in particular messing up the Springboks breakdown, which stopped the visitors from getting even more points on the board.
4. James Ryan – 2
Utterly ludicrous, Ryan’s discipline has, at times, flared up throughout his career. This evening, his red card was fully justified and cost his team majorly.
5. Tadhg Beirne – 6.5
Double-digit tackles and a turnover were par for the course, such is the standard Beirne has set for himself.
Despite the frequency with which he was being shunted back at scrum time, he looked the most likely of the Irish forwards to pilfer the ball.
6. Ryan Baird – 8
A real bright spark on a tough evening for Ireland, Baird’s departure in the 60th minute was a major blow.
To that point, he had challenged the Springboks line-out, battered Bok carriers backward and generally led the Irish resistance.
7. Josh van der Flier – 6.5
Pulled off a turnover, made 13 tackles, 10 carries and shut down a few promising Springboks attacks with ball and all tackles.
On the few wider carries he had, he managed to beat two defenders, but on the whole, he mirrored the Irish pack’s general issue of losing the gainline battle.
8. Caelan Doris – 7
Led from the front, as he always does, carrying into double tackles from the Boks and putting in a few big shots of his own.
Topping the tackle charts with 16, plus a turnover, Doris was another player who had key interventions that stopped the Boks from crossing the line.
Generally, when he was tasked with carrying, it was from right on his line.
One blemish was his missed tackle on Damian De Allende, which sparked the break that ultimately led to the Boks' opening try.
9. Jamison Gibson Park – 7
Did the best with what he had.
Playing mind games with Eben Etzebeth, Gibson-Park avoided getting any of his clearance kicks charged down. There were 12.
His passing range gave Ireland some edge opportunities, but they were few and far between.
10. Sam Prendergast – 4.5
Put his body on the line, albeit he definitely missed more than the one tackle that is being shown on the stat line.
Most notable of the misses came when he could’ve made contact with Damian Willemse but dropped low before the contact.
Missing an early penalty was disappointing, but from then on, he kicked well to the posts.
In attack, his long passing game is not effective when his side is not on the front foot. Still, he whipped the ball out on a few occasions when Ireland had the advantage, and they generally were picked off by the Boks.
At times, slipping offloads when taking contact would’ve stopped his side losing meters. Another learning experience, but one that is hard to gauge as to how beneficial it really was for him.
11. James Lowe – 7
Sparked a few opportunities as Ireland’s top carrier with 11, in particular when he bounced Cheslin Kolbe, and Ireland raced forward.
Defensively, he did well overall to jam in and cut off the outside backs of the Boks. One glaring misstep was his decision to try to intercept Pieter-Steph du Toit’s pass to Damian Willemse instead of just tackling the fullback.
12. Bundee Aki - 4
One of Irish Rugby’s greatest players during the high points, the 35-year-old has lost the dynamism that made him so potent.
While he's still capable of a big carry, his pace has dropped and his inability to break the line really limited Ireland’s attack.
The stat line reads seven tackles and seven carries with just 4 meters made.
13. Garry Ringrose – 7
Simply torched Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu in what clearly was a direct response to the fly-half's high tackle on Tommy O’Brien.
The outside center made 10 tackles and carried the ball 10 times.
On the whole, he had some promising moments, but similar to his long-term center partners, Bundee Aki and Robbie Henshaw, Ringrose is relying on being a power athlete.
The attacking spark to beat a defender on the outside, or link play, just isn’t what it once was. Still in a clash like today’s, he was ferocious in defense and largely shut off the Boks' ability to get into the wide channels.
14. Tommy O'Brien – 5
Departed with a HIA following his tackle attempt on Damian de Allende and quite possibly from the high shot he received from Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
Prior to his departure, he had two carries with a line break and four tackles made.
15. Mack Hansen – 7
Handled the Springboks' aerial assault, made some timely tackles and nearly slipped out of Jasper Wiese’s grip for what would’ve been a big try. His departure in the 64th minute felt like the final blow to Ireland.
Substitutes
16. Ronan Kelleher - 5
He was highly industrious in terms of his work rate around the park with seven carries and four tackles. Yet, at line-out time, he remains unreliable in what now is a clear issue in his game.
17. Paddy McCarthy – 6.5
It was a baptism of fire for the 22-year-old who definitely would’ve preferred to have his brother backing up when the Boks put the squeeze on at scrum time.
Sure, he conceded four penalties and a yellow card, but really, the Irish pack was under tremendous pressure, and he paid the price.
Around the park, he was huge with nine carries and two big-time turnovers.
18. Finlay Bealham – 4
He's another of the older squad members who are under serious pressure for their positions.
While he was not the issue at scrum time, he was a noticeable step down from Tadhg Furlong across the board.
Now 34-years-old, it will be interesting to see what Farrell does in the Six Nations with 25-year-old Thomas Clarkson leading the charge of young tightheads in Irish Rugby.
19. Cian Prendergast – 8
Another huge impact from the bench, the Connacht skipper undeniably is a key member of the matchday 23.
Could he push Ryan Baird for the starting blindside role? Certainly, or could we see them both start with Baird moving back to lock? That is the question for another day.
His line-out ability was huge for Ireland as the Irish repelled wave after wave of Springboks attacks, as were his eight tackles and turnover.
20. Jack Conan – 4
Replaced the immensely impressive Ryan Baird with 20 minutes to go, and unusually, could not get up to the pace of the game.
Given the form of younger backrowers in Irish Rugby, namely Brian Gleeson, the 33-year-old is among the list of players who will need to really up their games before the Six Nations.
21. Craig Casey – 7
Replaced Garry Ringrose with eight minutes to play, and the Munster star played exceptionally well under the circumstances.
Getting the Irish attack moving with his speed of service and sniping ability, Casey has firmly closed the gap on Jamison Gibson-Park.
Will Farrell back him? That is the question.
22. Jack Crowley – 6.5
He was knocked for his unnecessary yellow card, which ramped up the pressure on a side that already was struggling.
Yet, despite playing out of position, nearly all of the interactions were positive.
Beating three defenders and stopping two certain Springboks tries in quick succession proved what Crowley brings to the Irish setup.
Defensively, he was his usual rock-solid self, and Andy Farrell has plenty to mull over before the Six Nations.
23. Tom Farrell – 5
Brought a spark to proceedings for the final 15 minutes with a few half breaks and a defender beaten.
Given how disjointed the Irish back line was by the stage he entered, it was a good showing.
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