Springboks take confidence from 14-man wins into Ireland clash

The Springboks believe that winning two matches in which they played largely without their No 5 lock gives them confidence and plenty of belief ahead of one of their toughest fixtures of the year – Ireland in Dublin.

Lood de Jager received a red card in the 39th minute in their 32-17 victory over France in Paris a week before Franco Mostert was similarly penalised in the 12th minute of their 32-14 win over Italy in Turin on Saturday.

While De Jager’s punishment for a no-arms tackle was more understandable – and he received a four-match ban for it – Mostert’s dangerous tackle did not appear to meet the red-card threshold. However, referee James Doleman, his assistants, and TMO, decided to give the player a permanent red card.

Afterwards, coach Rassie Erasmus refrained from saying it was the wrong call. Instead, he pointed out other instances in the match where the referees did not show consistency.

The players, for their part, put the matter behind them and, just as they did in the Paris Test, turned out an excellent performance with three tries in the last 21 minutes to secure a comfortable victory.

Springboks gear up for Ireland

Man-of-the-match fullback Damian Willemse and inside centre Canan Moodie said the match was important ahead of the Ireland fixture.

“Things didn’t go our way early on, we got a red card, and we just had to fight. We had to bring our South Africanness in and work for each other and grind it out. Luckily, we did that and got a good win,” Moodie said.

“Scoring some good tries in that last 20 minutes, we’ll take a lot of confidence in playing a full 80 minutes. We’ll see what Ireland throw at us next week and we’ll be prepared for whatever they bring.”

Willemse praised several of his teammates who played their first match of the tour, saying they showed grit.

“We have an eye on Ireland already but we need to enjoy tonight and enjoy this week,” Willemse said after Saturday’s match.

“Our goal is to go to Aviva Stadium and put out a strong performance. It’s definitely going to be a massive game.”

Come up with plans

He said the Springboks would require the buy-in of all squad members, whether they are playing or not.

“We know Ireland are a world-class team and what they can do, especially in Dublin. They are a very strong side, very good coaching staff as well. They will be ready and prepared to come up with plans for us.

“We’ll get eyes on the drawing board on Monday to make sure about our plans and make sure we are ready for the challenge in Dublin.”

Bongi Mbonambi (hooker) and Ntuthuko Mchunu (prop) joined the squad for the remaining matches against Ireland and Wales.