PARIS – Ireland are on the cusp of the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals after a thrilling 13-8 victory over defending champions South Africa in a riveting Pool B match at the Stade de France on Saturday.
The Irish top the pool and round off their campaign against Scotland in a fortnight while the Springboks, who are second, play Tonga in their final match next weekend.
The statement win extended Ireland’s record winning run to 16 Tests and brought to an end the Springboks’ run of six in a row.
The clash of the world’s two top teams, who could feasibly meet again in the final on October 28, did not disappoint.
Ireland were roared on by the majority of the crowd, which Ireland try scorer Mack Hansen said had pushed the team to the win.
“It was pretty much like the Grand Slam on steroids out there,” he said. “It was incredible and we needed every single one of them out there tonight to get the job done against a really good South African team.”
Early Irish pressure was rewarded with a penalty but Sexton was left to rue his decision.
The Irish skipper went for touch rather than take an almost certain three points as the Springboks w
…. to be continued
Read full article at the Original Source
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : eNCA – https://www.enca.com/news/ireland-brink-world-cup-last-eight-after-edging-springboks
