Oirish counted in The Taal

When Victor Matfield realised at the second lineout of the match that Irish lock, Paul O’Connell, was counting with him in Afrikaans, he could not believe it.

JJ Harmse, Sport24

And, he admits, it had the Springboks baffled for a while.

“It was a bad day for us,” Matfield said after one of the Boks poorest performances to date in the lineouts. Lineouts have always been one of the Boks’ strengths.

“After the second lineout we discovered that Gert (Smal) had to have given the Irish some Afrikaans lessons, because they could read the calls. We tried to change things thereafter, which did not work either. In the second half, it went slightly better, but this was the worst lineout contest I have ever had in my life,” said Matfield after his team lost 10-15 to Ireland.

Smal had been involved in South African rugby for the last decade before he was snatched up to become Ireland’s forwards coach. This has come back to bite the Boks’ heels rather unexpectedly.

“Gert knows our lineouts very well, but we thought that we could get away from that with Afrikaans calls,” said Matfield.

“Our own ball was shocking. There is nothing that we can say, but it does not happen everyday. We will have to ascertain where things went wrong.”

Matfielfd still feels that the Boks could have won.

“The victory was there for the asking, but we did not always do the right thing. We had chances and we will have to examine at ourselves as to why we did not use them. We were a minute away and a metre from the try line. Had we scored there, then it would have been one unbelievable Test. So we were there, but almost is not good enough.”

Matfield does not think that the defeat takes anything away from the Boks’ outstanding season.

“These things happen, we must just keep our heads and try reach new heights next year. I am glad that we have received recognition from the International Rugby Board with the award (Team of the Year).

“Once again, the match was on a knife edge and we were a metre away. We were so close, but it has been an unbelievable year for Bok rugby.”

Jean de Villiers (centre), shares this sentiment. “We had a good year, with a lot of success. It was nail-biting and their kicks to goal were decisive in the outcome. They could not score a try, because our defence was very good,” said De Villiers.

De Villiers thinks the Boks were more adventurous. Said De Villiers, “We created more chances than them, but it was one of those matches where you fall short. We are disappointed, but the team has achieved so much and that makes this defeat feel a little bit better. It would have been fantastic had we pulled this one through.”

Bitterly cold

According to him it was the coldest conditions he has ever experienced on a rugby field and Zane Kirchner agrees.

“The weather was something truly new. I have never played in conditions below freezing.

“It might have looked like an easy evening on TV, but it was definitely not easy on the field. At times I could not feel my hands,” he said.