Ireland’s new plan to stop Springboks attack

Ireland defence coach Simon Easterby has outlined his team’s defensive roles in preparation for this weekend’s second Test match against South Africa in Durban.

The Springboks have added a new dimension to their already strong game plan under the guidance of new attack coach Tony Brown.

A glimpse of the new, more expansive attacking style was clearly visible in the Springboks’ 27-20 victory over Ireland.

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They kept the ball much better and often found space and width on the pitch against the Six Nations champions.

Easterby told reporters at Northwood High School in Durban that he is not surprised by the Boks’ new attacking approach.

However, he believes Brown adds an extra ‘dimension’ to the team.

“They’ve always had the ability to play in that space and width,” Easterby said ahead of the much-anticipated challenge at Kings Park.

“They can play some styles of game with their forward group, the ability to win the gain line and the collisions in (playing) a little bit tighter.

South Africa

Ireland

“But in the last few years, since we’ve played against them, they’ve had some full-backs who can play with space, play with footwork and have a good kicking game.

“And the addition of Tony Brown adds another dimension to the way they can attack.”

Ireland face much the same challenge this weekend, against an unchanged Springbok matchday squad.

And while the Irish struggled in the first half of that first Test match, Easterby said they will take confidence from their second-half performance at Loftus Versfeld.

The defense coach outlined the tasks his team had to complete in preparation for the crucial match.

If Ireland wins, the series will end in a draw.

“They gave the ball space, which we expected, but we didn’t handle it as well as we should have,” he explained.

“Sometimes a team finds a way to get into space. We didn’t close that out the way we normally would.

“There are plenty of solutions for that, but essentially we have to perform better on both sides of the ball, especially in the first half.

“As the game went on, we grew a lot and finished stronger. We get a lot of confidence from that.

“You can’t give a team like South Africa the space that we allowed because they have too many good players who can put you under pressure and abuse that space.

“If you lose a few fights, you’re behind and it creates a kind of negative spiral.

“You have to try to create something within that, whether that’s the communication, or whether it’s individuals working a little bit smarter within that and finding a way to find solutions.

“It’s probably a combination of things we didn’t quite get right in those first 20 minutes when they got a decent lead on us.

“After the break we solved a lot of those things and were much harder to break. I thought we were much better in the second half on both sides of the ball.”

In terms of injuries, the assistant coach reported that he was healthy.

He said James Lowe, Bundee Aki, Robbie Henshaw, Andrew Porter and Jamie Osborne are all available for this weekend.

Henshaw was forced off at half-time with a head injury after his mouthguard indicated he had collided with Siya Kolisi.

However, he has adhered to the return to play protocols and Easterby said he is on track for Saturday’s match.

Head coach Andy Farrell will announce the names of his team on Thursday.