There’s a temptation to refer to the Ireland squad’s internal dialogue this week as soul searching but it’s probably more prosaic. Last week’s 27-20 defeat to South Africa hurt, not just because of the outcome, but because of the manner of the defeat.
The review focused on the performance lapses; the players were ruthlessly honest about the individual and collective shortcomings. The group isn’t used to losing, the last time they endured a couple of consecutive defeats was in the 2021 Six Nations, a statistic they’re unwilling to revisit.
Garry Ringrose enjoyed a productive and prominent return for Ireland in the second half in that first Test at Loftus Versfeld, replacing Robbie Henshaw (concussion). He will return to the familiar 13 jersey for Saturday’s second Test at Kings Park, this time in tandem with his Leinster colleague.
“There are no egos in the group. Why we say it’s a special group, and we all feel privileged to be a part of it, is because everyone wants to do their best, give their best and ultimately win, but that’s a byproduct of being focused and hard-working,” said Ringrose.
“When it doesn’t work out, a lot of guys are quite hard on themselves, so it’s about just being open, honest, transparent, and putting it all out there. That’s what the last two days have looked like, being open and honest and concentrating on what we can do better. Say it as it is, it’s not being hard or soft or anything, it’s just dealing with the reality of the game and trying to do better.”
The word ‘positives’ tends to wither somewhat in defeat. It’s not that there weren’t any, it’s just that players prefer not to cling to them publicly.
“It’s a tough one, when you lose you don’t take many positives; I guess the opportunities that we potentially did create, and maybe didn’t take,” said Ringrose.
“There’s another level in how we can play. A credit to them [South Africa], how strong they are on defence and the pressure they put you under. On attack they had really good variety, so having faced them once, [we need to] try to level up again.
“The positives, I guess, is having an opportunity to go again and knowing that we can be better, and the challenges will be to improve on what they improve on.”
South Africa head coach Rassie Erasmus plumped for an unchanged team, a decision that will enable Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel to become the most-capped centre pairing in South African history when they combine for the 30th time in Test matches at Kings Park. They augment a bludgeoning power with a selection of finer skills.
Ringrose said: “They’ve great cohesion. Damian’s an unbelievably good ballplayer, he can pass off both hands, [possesses] kicking ability, attacking kicks, and that’s before mentioning his ability to carry. Then you have Jesse Kriel, who on defence gets through a crazy amount of work and chases every chance, every scrap, and he’s a cornerstone.
“Even on Cheslin Kolbe’s try you can see he [Kriel] is chasing up the inside as well. Then on attack, his pace and ability to take on the line is tough to deal with; we will have our work cut out.”
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Ringrose highlighted Kolbe’s try. “Taking a step back from all of it, it’s a lesson for young and old, everyone, that he’s obviously unbelievably talented.
“It doesn’t require skill, it requires work rate, which he has in abundance, and he creates the opportunity for himself. Definitely anyone can take a lesson from that.”
Ringrose recalled the words of Ireland’s head coach Andy Farrell from another time and place to put Saturday’s game in context. “What I remember Andy said, for I can’t remember which game, but ‘the biggest game in Irish rugby’s history is always the next one’. With how competitive the group is, how special an opportunity it is to represent the country, it couldn’t be more true.
“Any opportunity that any of us get to play for Ireland, it’s never taken for granted. It motivates you to work hard.”
It’ll be a commitment to honour in Kings Park.
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