Cape Town – Nika Amashukeli won’t be the most popular person in South African rugby circles anytime soon after making a number of blunders in the Springboks’ 19-16 loss to Ireland in Dublin on Saturday night that proved costly in the end.
Bok fans have a right to feel aggrieved about some of the mistakes from the 28-year-old match official from Tbilisi, Georgia.
But in the cold light of day, the likes of Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber will know deep down that their team should have won anyway.
But let’s first deal with Amashukeli. The two major errors he made eventually led to both Ireland tries – a forward pass from veteran flyhalf Johnny Sexton, and then another forward pass from loosehead prop Andrew Porter to tighthead replacement Finlay Bealham.
There were a whole host of other blatant home-town decisions from Amashukeli as well in front of a boisterous Aviva Stadium crowd.
In general, he allowed the Irish players to lie on the wrong side of the ruck to slow down the Boks’ attacking ball; he missed clear scrum infringements that led to penalties for the hosts; and the Irish were allowed to contest the breakdowns when it had already become a ruck.
But having said all of that, the South Africans could still have emerged victorious.
They dominated territory, possession and in the physical stakes throughout the first half, but only had six points on the board at halftime, with Ireland level at 6-6 through two Sexton penalties.
The moment that the Irish took a big step towards beating the Springboks 🍀
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) November 6, 2022
Mack Hansen going over in the corner after slick hands in the lead up.@SageGroupZA pic.twitter.com/VmIMtjxYeW
The Boks were just too panicky with ball-in-hand, coughing up possession through knock-ons, wrong options and missed lineouts.
The forwards had done all the hard yards by punching holes in the Irish defence by charging around the corner off scrumhalf Jaden Hendrikse, only for the backline to waste those opportunities.
The likes of Cheslin Kolbe, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Makazole Mapimpi hardly touched the ball going forward, with centres Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel making good metres alongside the pack, but ultimately not converting their chances.
Flyhalf Damian Willemse tried to weave his magic with a couple of hot-stepping runs and classy offloads, but he had a bad miss at goal with his second penalty, which saw captain Siya Kolisi opting to go for touch later on when another shot at the posts may have been the better option in such a tight encounter.
🗣️ "The Irish people should really be proud of their team."
Siya Kolisi reacts to the Springboks loss to Ireland. pic.twitter.com/7kHnGC9jQj
The visitors’ defended resolutely as well to disrupt the famed Ireland attacking style – even when Kolbe was yellow-carded for a tip tackle on Hansen – and they should have been rewarded with points on the board.
But that failure came back to haunt Kolisi and his team in the second half as Ireland found their touch going forward, with flank Josh van der Flier’s try from a maul giving them some breathing room.
Three minutes later, a typically flowing backline move after they grabbed a loose ball on the ground saw wing Mack Hansen round off on the left, and it seemed as if it was all over at 16-6 with half-an-hour to go.
Almost all of the Bok replacements made a significant impact, with Willie le Roux adding some width on attack and Kwagga Smith and Deon Fourie real energy upfront, and the try from Franco Mostert made it a five-point game at 16-11 with 13 minutes left.
But the goal-kicking woes continued, with Kolbe missing the conversion, and when Sexton slotted a late penalty, it was 19-11.
Even when Arendse dotted down following a quick tap penalty from Smith with five minutes remaining, Kolbe was unable to add the two points, and the Irish held on for the victory.
The Boks had the game by the scruff of the neck, though, and should have been out of sight by halftime.
But while that will be cold comfort for Kolisi, Nienaber and Erasmus when they wake up on Sunday, they will approach next year’s Rugby World Cup Pool B clash with the Irish with a bit more confidence, knowing that they have the tools to come out on top when it really matters…
Points-Scorers
Ireland 19 – Tries: Josh van der Flier, Mack Hansen. Penalties: Johnny Sexton (3).
South Africa 16 – Tries: Franco Mostert, Kurt-Lee Arendse. Penalties: Damian Willemse (1), Cheslin Kolbe (1).
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