Ireland saw new Bok attack coming

Ireland weren’t caught off guard by the Springboks’ attacking enterprise at Loftus Versfeld last Saturday.

Ireland’s defence coach Simon Easterby made it clear the tourists had anticipated a shift in the Bok attack, especially now that former All Blacks flyhalf Tony Brown is its choreographer.

“Tony Brown’s inclusion adds another dimension to the way they can attack,” said Easterby who last Saturday witnessed his team go behind early to a breathtaking try from the Springboks who used all the width available to them at Loftus.

“The ability for them to play to that sort of space, width has always been there,” Easterby said.

“They can play a couple of game styles with their pack, the ability to win the gain-line and the collisions in attacking a little bit tighter.

“But in the last couple of years since we have been playing them they have some backs that can play with space, play with footwork and have that kicking game,” observed the former British & Irish Lions flanker.

He said while they anticipated the Springboks would put the ball into space, the visitors did not do well combating the threat.

“Sometimes, a team will find a way to get into space. We didn’t shut that down in the way that we would normally do. There are plenty of fixes for that, but essentially, we have to be better on both sides of the ball.

“You can’t give a side like SA the type of space that we allowed because they have too many quality players to put you under pressure and take advantage of that space.

“If you lose a few collisions, you are on the back foot and it is a bit of a spiral of negativity.

“You have to try to create something within that, whether that is the communications, whether that is individuals working a little bit smarter and finding a way to find solutions.”

Ireland did find some solutions and they showed great courage playing themselves back into the contest until a destructive Springbok scrum killed off the contest.

Ireland, however, will draw much from their second-half performance in the capital as they head into the second Test.

Their ability to absorb pressure and their street smarts kept them in the game where lesser teams may have wilted.

“As the game went on we grew massively into it and we finished stronger. We will take a lot of confidence from that,” said Easterby.

Though the Boks will field the same match day 23, the challenge facing Ireland this week may be a little different. Loftus Versfeld's hard surface promotes a high-tempo game and Ireland, away from altitude, may feel a little more in their element on the more yielding Kings Park turf.

While the Springboks’ new attacking intent got tongues wagging this week, they may be less inclined to play with the width with which they started in Pretoria last weekend.

They may not completely abandon their newly adopted principles on attack, but the Boks may lean more to a forward and territory-based game in Durban.

The conditions may dictate that, while being one-nil up in the series means the onus will be on Ireland to make the running.

The Boks’ ability to sit back, absorb pressure before striking off a perfectly timed turnover has made them a devilishly difficult team to subdue.