RUGBY
Carbery makes impressive cameo appearance in record breaking Irish win
By Daire Walsh
IRELAND enjoyed an encouraging start to the latest Guinness Series at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday evening, when they recorded a comprehensive 38-3 triumph over an underwhelming South Africa.
This was the Green Army’s record victory against the Springboks (they previously claimed a 32-15 win at Lansdowne Road back in 2006), and though a late scoring burst did embellish the final scoreline to a certain degree, they were comfortably the better side on the night.
In addition to Simon Zebo’s absence from the squad, the build-up to the game was also dominated by the inclusion of Connacht cult hero Bundee Aki alongside his former provincial team-mate Robbie Henshaw in the Irish midfield.
Aki is the latest player – following in the notable footsteps of Jared Payne and CJ Stander – to qualify for Ireland through the three-year residency rule, which has sparked a great deal of debate in recent years. The rule is set to be extended to five years, and while this may effectively bring the ‘project player’ route for provinces to an end, Aki has gained a place in the Irish set-up prior to this tweak.
There can be no denying that Aki is a massive addition for Joe Schmidt, and while he was featuring in a back line that also included relative international novices like Andrew Conway and Jacob Stockdale, Ireland were the team making the attacking inroads early on.
Three penalties from Jonathan Sexton helped them to develop a healthy advantage at the end of the first-quarter, and following a period where the Springboks were doing their best to keep things tight in defence, Andrew Conway broke free for his first-ever try at international level.
Sexton was agonisingly off-target from the resulting conversion, but a 14-0 interval lead at their disposal, Ireland found themselves in a commanding position. Elton Jantjies got the visitors up and running in the second-half with a coolly penalty strike, and for much of the third-quarter, it was a much-improved performance from Allister Coetzee’s side.
Yet, Sexton’s fourth penalty on 56 minutes ensured that Ireland still had considerable breathing space, and a second try from Rhys Ruddock effectively placed the outcome beyond any doubt. This was the cue for Schmidt to fully unload his replacements bench, with former Cork hurler Darren Sweetnam making his debut in place of the dependable Rob Kearney.
Athy’s Joey Carbery also made a brief cameo at out-half, winning his fifth cap at senior level in the process.
He converted a try from Rob Herring just moments after his introduction, and also played a major role in Ireland’s fourth and final touchdown of the contest.
His precise crossfield kick was gathered by Sweetnam, and a dynamic team move was eventually finished off in the left-corner by Stockdale.
Carbery brilliantly split the posts for a second time from out on the touchline, and he is expected to feature in this Saturday’s game against Fiji, along with the Kill duo of Adam Byrne and James Tracy.