Former Springbok coach Nick Mallett offered some fiery commentary on South Africa's recent rugby showdown in Dublin, where they secured a 24-13 victory over Ireland. The scrum, according to Mallett, wasn't just a match strategy but a battleground where the Boks set out to prove a painful point.
During an episode of the Talking Boks podcast, Mallett didn't hold back. "The scrum told the real story of the Test," he asserted, indicating that the scoreboard didn't fully reflect the Boks' supremacy. He suggested that the Boks' performance was so dominant that the Irish were lucky to escape with the score they did. "We scored four tries, but we were so much better than that. We could have scored another couple had [referee Matthew] Carley been harsher on them around at the breakdown and around the driving maul," Mallett explained.
The Boks' strategy was clear: exploit the scrum, where they forced penalties almost every time the pack came together. "They gave away a penalty at virtually every scrum, and we kept on going to the scrum again because that’s within the laws and they just couldn’t handle it," he noted.
"I love the way we demolished them in the scrum but once or twice we should have probably taken three points. Maybe that would have made them chase the game a bit more. But I also got the feeling that it almost felt very personal for the Boks – that they almost wanted to hurt Ireland through the scrum."
Mallett also touched on the officiating by Matthew Carley, whom he initially praised during his SuperSport commentary. "I thought he was sticking to his guns ... I thought he stuck to the letter of the law, spoke to the guys, gave a yellow card, gave another yellow card. I thought he got the red card … spot on."
However, as the game wore on, Mallett felt that Carley was overwhelmed, particularly in the second half. He detailed how Ireland's repeated infringements near the tryline went largely unpunished, which could have escalated the penalty count significantly. "We had a period where we were – I don’t know, 10 to 15 minutes, maybe longer – in their 22 and they must have given away repeated penalties around scrums, around the driving maul, around offsides, around coming in from the side from a ruck," he lamented.
Mallett concluded with a note on an unusual penalty: "I mean, we got penalised for celebrating. I’ve never seen that happen in my life on a rugby field before." The Boks' win in Dublin, thus, was not just a game won but a statement made, underscored by a scrum that seemed less about sport and more about settling scores.
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Former Springbok coach Nick Mallett offered some fiery commentary on South Africa's recent rugby showdown in Dublin, where they secured a 24-13 victory over Ireland. The scrum, according to Mallett, wasn't just a match strategy but a battleground where the Boks set out to prove a painful point.
During an episode of the Talking Boks podcast, Mallett didn't hold back. "The scrum told the real story of the Test," he asserted, indicating that the scoreboard didn't fully reflect the Boks' supremacy. He suggested that the Boks' performance was so dominant that the Irish were lucky to escape with the score they did. "We scored four tries, but we were so much better than that. We could have scored another couple had [referee Matthew] Carley been harsher on them around at the breakdown and around the driving maul," Mallett explained.
The Boks' strategy was clear: exploit the scrum, where they forced penalties almost every time the pack came together. "They gave away a penalty at virtually every scrum, and we kept on going to the scrum again because that’s within the laws and they just couldn’t handle it," he noted.
"I love the way we demolished them in the scrum but once or twice we should have probably taken three points. Maybe that would have made them chase the game a bit more. But I also got the feeling that it almost felt very personal for the Boks – that they almost wanted to hurt Ireland through the scrum."
Mallett also touched on the officiating by Matthew Carley, whom he initially praised during his SuperSport commentary. "I thought he was sticking to his guns ... I thought he stuck to the letter of the law, spoke to the guys, gave a yellow card, gave another yellow card. I thought he got the red card … spot on."
However, as the game wore on, Mallett felt that Carley was overwhelmed, particularly in the second half. He detailed how Ireland's repeated infringements near the tryline went largely unpunished, which could have escalated the penalty count significantly. "We had a period where we were – I don’t know, 10 to 15 minutes, maybe longer – in their 22 and they must have given away repeated penalties around scrums, around the driving maul, around offsides, around coming in from the side from a ruck," he lamented.
Mallett concluded with a note on an unusual penalty: "I mean, we got penalised for celebrating. I’ve never seen that happen in my life on a rugby field before." The Boks' win in Dublin, thus, was not just a game won but a statement made, underscored by a scrum that seemed less about sport and more about settling scores.