PAUL MACWEENEYreported on the match while SEAMUS KELLYkept an eye on the demonstrations on a contentious day at Lansdowne Road in 1970
ANY GOOD FORTUNE enjoyed by South Africa on previous full-scale tours in Britain and Ireland certainly has been denied to them this season, for only by sheer robbery were they deprived of their first international victory at Lansdowne Road on Saturday, having lost narrowly to Scotland and England.
Each side scored a goal and a penalty goal, but Ireland were a beaten side when Kiernan sent a 30 yards penalty shot, from halfway between touch-line and centre, wide in the 79th minute after the tourists had taken the lead for the first time nine minutes earlier.
Injuries to Kiernan and Kennedy, who was struck in the back by a bottle hurled from the crowd standing underneath the East Stand, had held up play for some five minutes, but the Scottish referee gave a more generous allowance which enabled Ireland to snatch the draw.
The injury time, in fact, had been stretched to seven minutes when Duggan intercepted a pass just inside the Springboks half, ran through to the full-back and kicked hard over H. de Villiers’ head.
He was half impeded in following up, but while Ellis, Nomis and Dawie de Villiers reached the ball first, the pursuit was sufficiently close to compel them to fall on it, and when they impeded the attack by not releasing the ball, a penalty, fairly enough, was awarded under the posts from which Kiernan landed the equalising goal.
Immediately afterwards the whistle sounded for full time.
If Ireland’s escape was almost miraculous, it is pertinent to observe that we were robbed of a draw on the last South African full-scale tour in 1960-61, when they were awarded a push-over try in the fourth minute of injury time.
On that occasion, the Welsh referee, having signalled a five yards scrum, allowed the Springboks pack to make fully three yards before the put-in, and certainly did not give the benefit of doubt to the defence, which is normal practice in such circumstances.
If therefore, the breaks were equalised on Saturday, there is also the point that South Africa, with a far greater ratio of possession, had only themselves to blame for failing to build up an impregnable lead. They won the tight head in the set scrums 2-0; the conclusive rucks 17-14, and clean possession at the line-outs 27-14, yet with the backs positively spoonfed, their only try was scored by a flank forward. Greyling, after a scrum had been wheeled, with perfect timing, five yards from the Irish line.
When Greyling gathered no more than a couple of yards out and dived, no defence could have been proof against a man of almost 14 stone, and if the tourists had exploited their huge advantage in weight in the pack, Ireland could never have survived. For a spell of some eight minutes in the second half, we saw the old battering-ram force of the Springboks’ forward drive, but an Irish defence, cut to ribbons, was reprieved when the emphasis was on serving a back division almost totally devoid of penetration.
The eagle eye kept on Dawie de Villiers blunted one keen-edged Springboks weapon, for the menacing scrumhalf was never allowed more than limited progress on the break. The expectations of penetration by Lawless, the outhalf, were never realised, for either he acted as a link or else used the cross-kick – but not once did he seek for the possible gap, and his handling became increasingly uncertain in the later stages.
Even a bigger disappointment was the long-serving centre, F. Roux, who clearly has lost the urge which made him such a problem for defences in recent years; the fact that be arrived so late in the programme to join his colleagues also must have been a severe handicap, for he was not tuned-up to a contest of this calibre.
O. A. Roux could not provide compensation, and thus the wings, Nomis and Van der Watt, never received the service they were entitled to expect – when the back division was in movement so frequently. Each had a scoring chance, but neither had quite sufficient dash or determination to accept it.
That victory could have been achieved by a massive and mobile pack, is beyond question. Ellis, a great flanker, bored holes in the home defence, and in the early play, Du Preez made ground in the most alarming fashion from the Irish aspect. Bedford, Greyling and De Klerk were continually testing the tackling and cover by powerful running, but inevitably the pressure was relaxed when the backs were invited to produce the finishing touches.
Indeed , the main danger came from the fullback, H. O. de Villiers, who showed more enterprise than any of his colleagues when he advanced to make the extra link, and better support of his thrusts through the middle must have stretched the cover to breaking point.
The vast disparity in weight was almost unbearable for Ireland’s props and second row. Millar was subjected to the continual grinding of the 19st 5lb Myburgh, and to his credit he never quite capitulated, even though he must have been pushed to the limit of his stamina long before the end.
Kennedy can take credit from losing only two tight head strikes, and both he and O’Callaghan, who had his best game so far, were extremely active in the open from start to finish.
Both McBride and Campbell, who made a courageous debut, survived the pounding midway through the second half and still had the sheer guts to fight back in the closing minutes, and the covering of Slattery, who wrecked Lawless’s confidence, and Lamont, kept Ireland in the firing line when a comprehensive defeat looked possible.
If Goodall’s opportunities for utilising his speed and strength as an attacker were severely curtailed, his defensive instinct was as keen as ever, and he saved a game which would have been lost when he got across in the 27th minute of the second half, to put Van der Watt into touch when the Springboks left wing looked a certain scorer.
Granted a similar ration of good ball, Ireland’s backs would have left the issue in no doubt, for they were more resourceful and imaginative than their rivals. Whether in serving his partner or chipping the ball over the pack into the open spaces. Young was more effective than Dawie de Villiers, and if McGann was slow to get into stride, his handling was reliable and his punting well-placed, but the bounce seldom favoured him when he forced H. O. de Villiers to a chase after the ball.
Gibson engineered Ireland’s try with cool expertise, while Bresnihan, if making one injudicious cross-kick when we had an overlap, carved out an opening for Duggan early on which the wing failed to accept. However, Duggan almost was the match-winner and certainly the saviour in the end.
His acute anticipation enabled him to link up with Gibson for the try, and his interception, followed by a nicely-timed kick ahead, yielded the penalty goal.
A query mark must hang over Kiernan, whose work lacked the conviction of his best days. He started confidently but then seemed to lose confidence in his ability to run into the kick ahead, the tendency to hang back and await the bounce causing us several anxious moments. A knee injury in the second half reduced his mobility, and also impaired his timing of the goal-kick. He did bring off a classical smother tackle of Nomis in the closing minutes, but for once he was overshadowed by his opposite number, H. O. de Villiers, who, admittedly was seldom under such pressure.
Ireland went ahead in the 13th minute when Gibson, at half-way, snapped up the ball as it bounced out of F. Roux’s grasp, and with the Springboks moving forward, he raced through to the full-back, served Duggan and the wing outraced the pursuit from 45 yards to ground between the posts, Kiernan converting.
IRELAND: T Kiernan (Cork Con, capt); A Duggan (Lansdowne), F Bresnihan (Lansdowne), M Gibson (NIFC), W Brown (Malone); B McGann (Lansdowne), R Young (Collegians); S Millar (Ballymena), K Kennedy (London Irish), P O’Callaghan (Dolphin), W J McBride (Ballymena), E Campbell (Old Wesley), R Lamont (Instonians), F Slattery (UCD), K Goodall (City of Derry).
SOUTH AFRICA: H de Villiers; S Nomis, F Roux, O Roux, A van der Watt; M Lawless, D de Villiers; I Myburgh, C Cockrell, I Maaris, F du Preez, I de Klerk, P Greyling, T Bedford, I Ellis.
Referee: T Grierson (Scotland).
