Two weeks after the inaugural victory of Les Bleus over New Zealand, the Stade de France was once again the scene of a clash with the feel of a final, on Saturday, September 23. No opening ceremony, no anthems sung in canon by a children's choir this time, but rather another duel between two Oval heavyweights, which had the 78,542 spectators in the stands holding their breath.
On the left side of the ring, Ireland, first nation in the world rankings and winner of the last Six Nations Championship, with the added bonus of a "grand slam". On the other side, South Africa, the reigning world champions. In the end, it was the Irish who emerged victorious (13-8) to record their 16th win in a row and, above all, take a major step towards qualification for the World Cup quarter-finals.
The start of the competition had been an opportunity for coach Andy Farrell's men to show that they weren't perched at the top of the world rankings for nothing. Two thrashings of Romania (82-8) and above all Tonga (59-16) were enough to send a clear message to their rivals. All that remained then was to deliver it in person, which the "men in green" were careful to do on Saturday evening, in front of a mostly Celtic crowd who loudly supported them.
"When you play against the reigning world champions, it's always going to be incredibly tough and it was. They didn't let us down in terms of the physicality of the game but I thought we fronted up and gave some good stuff ourselves in that regard," explained captain Jonathan Sexton after the match, at a press conference where he appeared particularly scarred and tired. "We've got to make it count now." Before savoring the victory, the Irish general and his troops had to respond to the tough fight imposed by their opponents. The South African recipe was well known: one percussion after another until exhaustion set in.
Having been warned, Ireland had to find a way of countering both upfront and at the back. South African center Damian de Allende reminded us that the Boks' physical power could come from anywhere by knocking Garry Ringrose (19) and then Jonathan Sexton (21) off their feet with two super-powerful charges. Ringrose had to leave the field for ten minutes in keeping with a concussion protocol, while the Sexton sent a wave of concern through the stadium by staying down on one knee for long seconds. The tone was set.
But while the South Africans made the most of their physical impact to open the score with a penalty from stand-off half Manie Libbok (5), the Irish seemed the more confident of their strengths. After a complicated start to the match – including three lost touches in the opening minutes –, they reacted and logically struck first with an end-of-line try from winger Mack Hansen (32) after a long session of percussion from the forwards. "The first half we got the rub of the green for position but we did not capitalize on that," said a satisfied Andy Farrell at the final whistle.
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