Ireland must address crux of scrum issues – Five things we learned from this weekend’s action

The scrum

Not even Picasso could have painted a picture that would have satisfied the match officials when it came to scrum time as they adjudged Ireland relentlessly illegal in this facet of the game. The penalty count against the home side almost reached double figures from the scrum alone and Ireland had two props, Andrew Porter and Paddy McCarthy, sent to the sin bin.

Consideration must be given to the strength of the Springbok scrum and Ireland operating short-handed at various stages with Bundee Aki pushed into the role of auxiliary flanker. However, there’s more to untangle going forward.

Ireland’s Bundee Aki during the game against South Africa. Photograph: Gary Carr/Inpho

Head coach Andy Farrell alluded to a discrepancy in feedback from officials and what’s happening on the field during games, but he also acknowledged that his side must address the issues in-house. The scrum has fallen foul of referees in the past and Porter has often been singled out. Is he sinned against or sinning? It’s time to get to the bottom of ‘the why’ and fix it.

Fighting spirit

A silver lining in the disappointment of defeat was the spirit, camaraderie and selflessness shown by Ireland in extreme adversity. The attitude and application of players to do a job and a half when reduced from a full complement is a credit to the group.

[ Ireland player ratings v South Africa: James Ryan’s red card costs teamOpens in new window ]

The Springboks scored three tries and were awarded a fourth, a penalty try, but considering their scrum dominance and the numerical advantage they enjoyed for large swathes of the match, Farrell was justified in singling out the character shown by his side.

The world champions had routed every other team on this trip to the northern hemisphere and were given every advantage to repeat that shellacking here, but despite the home team being men down (and with several players playing out of position to boot), Ireland came within inches of making it a one-score game with five minutes remaining.

Lacking discipline

There’s no getting away from the fact that five yellow cards, one upgraded to red, and the concession of 18 penalties is the sort of storyline that Stephen King might incorporate into one of his horror novels. What’s even more frightening is that it could have been worse.

Ireland’s Tommy O’Brien is checked on by captain Caelan Doris after a tackle on South Africa’s Canan Moodie. Photograph: Gary Carr/Inpho

If there had been no cards up to the point when Tommy O’Brien tackled Canan Moodie then the likelihood is that the Ireland winger would probably have seen yellow, and in the majority of such cases a penalty try generally follows. Eben Etzebeth appeared to approach referee Matthew Carley on that matter as the teams headed off the pitch at half-time, and with some justification.

But what might frustrate Farrell more is the soft or silly penalties conceded, ones that are eminently avoidable. They might be the more painful review items.

November takeaways

So, what are the hot takes from the November Test series looking ahead to the Six Nations. Ireland have set piece issues to mull over, some of which were rectified, but there are others that require forthright answers. The ability to play is based on the facility to win good quality possession.

Ireland has two good outhalves learning their trade at Test level and they need a little breathing space to do so away from the goldfish bowl attention. They’re allowed to make mistakes. There is genuine competition in the backline and perhaps more scope now than recent years to rejig its composition.

Ireland’s Jack Crowley and Sam Prendergast on the bench after both having been yellow carded against South Africa. Photograph: Dan Sheridan/Inpho

Ryan Baird was Ireland’s player of the series for his all-round game, a lineout totem both with and against the throw, but it was his ability to make those hard metres, his carry and fight through traffic in and around the breakdown, and the quality of his tackling and speed to get to his feet that stood out impressively.

World Cup draw

While Ireland hosted South Africa at the Aviva Stadium there was also a clash in Tbilisi that had huge ramifications for the World Cup draw on December 3rd.

Eddie Jones’ Japan beat Georgia 25-23, a result that means the two countries swap places in the world standings. Going into the Test Georgia were in 12th, with their visitors one place behind, Japan’s victory now seeing them leapfrog their hosts.

Japan celebrate after beating Georgia in Tbilisi. Photograph: Levan Verdzeuli/Getty Images

A converted try from Dyland Riley and seven penalties from outhalf Seungsin Lee were enough to see Japan home, albeit that a late Georgian surge seemed to have won the game for the Lelos, but a penalty in the 80th minute for Lee sealed a memorable victory for Jones’ side.

Georgia lost 55-10 to South Africa before beating the USA and Canada during the November series. Ireland, who beat Georgia 34-5 in the summer, will be in Pot 1, with Japan now in Pot 2 and Georgia in Pot 3.