A battle of game plans: Talking points as Ireland end WXV with Springbok win

Ireland’s strong second half saw them pull away to a dominant 38-17 victory against South Africa on Saturday afternoon.

A hat-trick for Béibihnn Parsons and a double from Aoife Dalton headlined a year-ending victory that, based on the scoreboard, appears to have come more easily than it actually did.

In the first hour of the game, South Africa utilised a dominant set-piece, both at scrum and maul, to score three times, holding the lead twice in the game.

However, Ireland’s more expansive game plan and superior fitness levels ultimately told as the Springboks were made to pay for a late yellow card that allowed the visitors to pad out their lead.

Here are the game’s talking points…

A battle of game plans

This was a fascinating clash between two sides looking to do very different things with the ball. From the game’s opening kick-off, Ireland opted to take a quick lineout even though Mary Zulu sent the ball out on the full. Quick ball over a scrum on halfway. They wanted to keep the Springbok forwards moving across the park.

Hence their wide-wide gameplan, playing from one touchline to the other. When they held onto the ball for extended periods, it worked. The continuing experiment of Anna McGann at 13 looked good at times, the former winger using her athleticism to beat tacklers and long arms to offload. When getting the ball close to the touchline, wings Robyn O’Connor and Parsons threatened – the latter notching a hat-trick.

However, when Ireland’s error count and poor discipline got in the way, South Africa brought their strength to the fore. Scrum penalties. Kick to touch. A strong rolling maul forcing further indiscretions.

All three Springbok tries came from mauls and forward carries. All of the Irish tries came from playing the ball away from the ruck and getting to width. Fortunately for the visitors, they managed to execute their ploy just about more as the hosts fell away in the final quarter.

Crucially, moments after a South African yellow card in the second half, Ireland scored on first phase through Aoife Dalton – moving the ball into midfield and away from the South African forwards.

Putting the game to bed, Parsons later added her third score and Dalton her second as Ireland’s ability to keep moving the ball even in the latter stages showcased their superior fitness levels.

Irish set-piece woes

Ireland will be delighted that they won a game in which their set-piece faltered to this extent. It’s not that long ago that the USA Women’s Eagles stole an upset victory in Tallaght thanks to a dominant, second-half rolling maul.

Today in the Athlone Stadium, add a creaking Irish scrum to their struggling maul defence. From an Irish perspective, at least this time around South Africa were wasteful enough to not capitalise from their 10 visits into the Irish 22. There were enough moments of last-gasp defence, not least Linda Djougang’s steal in the first half.

From a South African view, they will be frustrated that in a game full of yellow cards, none were brandished to an Irish player for repeated maul infringements.

At scrum time, Ireland have experimented with their front-row in recent weeks, moving Djougang from tighthead to loose and getting the inexperienced Eilís Cahill some valuable minutes in the three shirt.

You can see why, given the power, size and high defensive work-rate Cahill can bring. However, she struggled at the set-piece. To be fair, Ireland’s scrum had issues both with Cahill and without when Niamh O’Dowd came on, shifting Djougang back to tighthead. But there were at least moments of parity, if not the odd unrewarded Irish shove, with O’Dowd and Djougang manning the propping duties.

Ireland won both games on a potentially tricky tour against a strong, forward-dominated opposition. That should not be discounted.

Nevertheless, this WXV Global Series run as a whole has exposed some set-piece weaknesses that need addressing prior to next year’s Guinness Women’s Six Nations.

Ill-discipline

Errors and ill-discipline were a dominant feature of this game. On both sides. The headline moments were yellow cards for Alicia Arries [high tackle], Aoibheann Reilly [neck roll] and Jakkie Cilliers [high tackle].

Reilly’s indiscretion in particular was needless, reckless and dangerous, twisting the neck of Sizophila Solontsi after the Boks skipper had scored. Once her spell in the bin expired, Reilly did not re-appear as Emily Lane replaced her off the bench.

Away from the cards, errors continually killed the momentum on both sides. Credit to flanker Catha Jacobs for the demolition job she did on the Irish breakdown in the first half, but Ireland will be frustrated at their inability to look after the ball. Handling errors were prominent, as were lineout mishaps and the odd poor kicking decision.

South Africa were no angels in this regard either, conceding more penalties and making regular errors as fatigue kicked in.

All of which created the air of an end-of-season contest between two teams at the end of their dance card for the calendar year. After a lengthy enough WXV Global Series run, both groups will be glad of a rest.