“The Bok scrum was a force of nature, bulldozing the Irish pack backwards and forcing penalty after penalty.”Tadhg Furlong celebrates after Ireland win a scrum against South Africa. Photograph: Niall Carson/PABut in the midst of his glowing review of the South African set-piece, Koopman joins in the praise of Ireland’s gritty resilience. Jumping to South Africa’s Times, the headline of Luke Alfred’s analysis reads: ‘Springboks smash the curse as power triumphs over Irish chaos’. Halfheartedly commending Ireland for “actually defending quite well”, Xabanisa comes rather close to criticising the Springboks for not running away with the game. Photograph: Brian Lawless/PAOn Ireland’s scrum issues, he singles out Andrew Porter.

Source: The Irish Times November 23, 2025 13:32 UTC