Sexton steers Ireland to victory as South Africa pay penalty for poor kicking

The Rugby World Cup still has five more weeks to run and this was “only” a pool game. It is almost impossible to conceive, even so, of a heavier-duty occasion than this impossibly physical Saturday-night smackdown in Saint Denis. The intensity was off the scale and when the final whistle sounded it was as much a case of counting the survivors back in again as totting up the actual points.

There was also the knowledge that these sides could yet bump into each other again at the tournament’s business end. If so, strap yourselves in tight. Some big games struggle to live up to the hype but here was a match as relentlessly tight and tense as any final. For Ireland to come out on top ranks up there with anything they have achieved on their rise to the top of the world rankings.

The pace of the game was also other worldly at times, a sizeable step up on anything else seen in France this month. Tries are not always required to ensure a classic and no pool game at any previous World Cup has previously featured the top two teams in the world. Ireland have now extended their remarkable recent run to 28 wins in their last 30 Tests, underpinned by a 33rd-minute Mack Hansen try, but they will be the first to appreciate that, for the moment, it guarantees them nothing.

It would also have been a different story had South Africa kicked their goals. Three penalties and a conversion went astray and in a ferociously close game it was to prove the only significant difference between the sides. As a result, unless Scotland have other ideas, there is now every chance of Ireland coming up against New Zealand in the quarter-finals with France facing the Boks. What a compelling pair of fixtures those would be.

Then again, they will have to be quite something to eclipse this demolition derby. Every Rugby World Cup has its defining days and the atmosphere surrounding this game was equally sensational, with about 35,000 Irish fans travelling over for the game and South Africa also well represented. From the moment Siya Kolisi released the hand of the mascot he was escorting and sprinted away into the distance, staring up to the heavens for inspiration, it was clear this was no ordinary fixture.

Never before, certainly, has the cathedral of French rugby resembled such a super-sized greenhouse. Inside the stadium it felt as if U2 had come to town and the first big tackle of the night, by a pumped-up Rónan Kelleher on Damian Willemse, duly set the tone. Rugby has its imperfections but this was as thunderously gladiatorial as any sporting event this year.

Some of the impacts all but made the ground shake. Garry Ringrose also needed to show an important turn of pace to haul down Jesse Kriel after Kurt-Lee Arendse had collected a wickedly bouncing ball and found space on the right but it was South Africa who started the scoreboard rolling with a sixth-minute penalty from Manie Libbok.

If Ireland’s cause was not being helped by some early lineout inaccuracies – five went astray in the opening 40 minutes – the clever angles and out-to-in running lines of their midfield were also asking questions. Slowly but surely, however, the Boks worked their way upfield and started to camp in the Irish half. The powerful Damian de Allende lined up Sexton and smashed the Irish captain out of his way and only a last-gasp rip from James Lowe saved his side in a subsequent meleé on their own line.

It was also a relief to Ireland when Ringrose returned from a head injury assessment after an attempted tackle which had clearly hurt him. By then his side were also ahead, having capitalised on a long break down the middle of the field by Bundee Aki. One of the strengths of Andy Farrell’s green army is their ability to make the most of their visits to opponents’ 22 and, sure enough, Lowe’s quick transfer found an unmarked Hansen who dotted down just inside the dead-ball line.

Sexton’s conversion made it 7-3 at the interval and some of the statistics made interesting reading. Ireland had conceded only three penalties in the first 40 minutes compared to South Africa’s seven and their five turnovers also reflected their hard work at the breakdown. There was a strong sense, even so, that they needed to build a lead. To the uninitiated a 7-1 split sounded like a price a sophisticated bookmaker might offer and South Africa had clearly taken a calculated punt with their bench selection. Barring accidents, though, this was a team built to finish even more strongly than they had started.

Sure enough, seven minutes after the resumption, on rumbled the first “Bomb Squad” platoon. And three minutes after that, with advantage being played for a scrum penalty, Libbok hurled a long pass to his left for Cheslin Kolbe to finish.

Would it be the turning point? Not this time. Neither De Klerk nor Libbok could bisect the uprights when it mattered and entering the final quarter South Africa could not exploit a couple of glorious attacking positions. When a Jack Crowley drop goal was touched in flight, giving Ireland an unexpected five-metre scrum, it put the Boks under further pressure and the young Irish replacement fly-half was able to extend the advantage with three minutes left on the clock. Was it over? With these two well-matched sides, nothing is ever entirely certain.