2006 South Africa rugby union tour of Ireland and England

The 2006 South Africa rugby union tour of Ireland and England was a series of matches played in November and December 2006 in Ireland and England by South Africa national rugby union team.

The Springboks, coached by Jake White lost the test with Ireland, drew the series (1–1) to England and won against a World XV selection.

Results

First test in Dublin A bad defeat against Ireland, that had never before scored four tries against Springboks in a century.* In the first half, Irish, made three tries that exposed the poor defence of Pierre Spies in particular and Bryan Habana out of position at 13. Spies was twice caught charging out of the line and the Irish swiftly punished that opening each time. The Springboks, fielding a largely experimental side, fought hard as Habana and debutant Francois Steyn dotted down in the second half. That comeback was roundly ended by Horgan after O'Driscoll expertly put him away to seal the game.

The match celebrate the centenary of the first Springboks tour and South Africa played in the kit worn by the 1906 touring squad, which was captained by Paul Roos.

FB 15Girvan DempseyRW 14Shane HorganOC 13Brian O'Driscoll (c)IC 12Gordon D'ArcyLW 11Andrew Trimble FH 10Ronan O'Gara SH 9 Peter Stringer N8 8 Denis LeamyOF 7 David WallaceBF 6 Neil Best RL 5 Paul O'Connell LL 4 Donncha O'CallaghanTP 3 John HayesHK 2 Rory Best LP 1 Marcus Horan Replacements:HK 16Frankie Sheahan PR 17Bryan Young LK 18Malcolm O'Kelly FL 19Simon Easterby SH 20Isaac Boss FH 21Paddy Wallace WG 22Geordan Murphy Coach: Eddie O'Sullivan FB 15Bevin FortuinRW 14Jaco Pretorius OC 13Bryan HabanaIC 12Jean de VilliersLW 11François SteynFH 10André PretoriusSH 9 Ricky Januarie N8 8 Pierre SpiesOF 7 Juan SmithBF 6 Danie Rossouw RL 5 Albert van den BergLL 4 Johan Ackermann TP 3 CJ van der LindeHK 2 John Smit (c)LP 1 Lawrence Sephaka Replacements:HK 16Chiliboy RalepellePR 17BJ Botha LK 18Johann Muller N8 19Jacques Cronjé FH 20Ruan Pienaar CE 21Wynand Olivier FB 22JP PietersenCoach:Jake White

Second test with England Next up was a two test encounter against England at fortress Twickenham. The Springboks had not beaten England since the Spring Tour of 2000 where the Boks won 18–13. England exacted revenge a week later and had built a period of dominance spanning six years. Even more disconcerting was that the Boks had not won at Twickenham since 1997; this leaving the Boks with a nine-year hoodoo to break. The Boks dominated England for much of the first test and seemed certain of victory until a late try by Phil Vickery gave England the result. A key turning point in the game was the injury to Butch James. His replacement, André Pretorius failed to deliver the steadiness Butch provided and missed an important penalty.

FB 15Josh LewseyRW 14Mark CuetoOC 13Mathew TaitIC 12Jamie NoonLW 11Ben CohenFH 10Charlie Hodgson SH 9 Peter Richards N8 8 Martin Corry (c)OF 7 Pat Sanderson BF 6 Joe WorsleyRL 5 Ben Kay LL 4 Tom PalmerTP 3 Julian WhiteHK 2 George Chuter LP 1 Andrew Sheridan Replacements:HK 16Lee Mears PR 17Phil Vickery LK 18Chris Jones FL 19Lewis Moody SH 20Shaun Perry FH 21Andy Goode FB 22Toby FloodCoach:Andy Robinson FB 15François SteynRW 14Akona NdunganeOC 13Wynand OlivierIC 12Jean de VilliersLW 11Bryan HabanaFH 10Butch James SH 9 Ricky Januarie N8 8 Jacques Cronjé OF 7 Danie RossouwBF 6 Pierre SpiesRL 5 Johann MullerLL 4 Johan Ackermann TP 3 BJ BothaHK 2 John Smit (c)LP 1 CJ van der Linde Replacements:HK 16Chiliboy RalepellePR 17Deon Carstens LK 18Albert van den Berg N8 19Hilton Lobberts SH 20Ruan Pienaar FH 21André Pretorius FB 22Bevin FortuinCoach:Jake White

The revenge with England The final analysis was that this was a year of growth as much as it was a disappointing lost opportunity. Injuries to Schalk Burger (broken neck), Bakkies Botha (calf surgery), Jean De Villiers (cracked rib), Bryan Habana (cracked rib), Butch James (groin and knee), André Pretorius (groin), Joe Van Niekerk (C5 & C6 vertebrae), Jacques Cronje (cracked rib), Danie Rossouw (hamstring), Juan Smith (left quadriceps), Eddie Andrews (back), BJ Botha (back surgery), CJ Van Der Linde (Leg), Gurthro Steenkamp (broken hand), Pedrie Wannenburg (wrist surgery), Marius Joubert (fractured hand) amongst other lesser injuries stretched the Bok's depth to its limit. The blessing was that it allowed the Boks to break their reliance on certain individuals and expand their depth in blooding new players and testing new combinations. Francois Steyn was undoubtedly the find of the season alongside the elusive Ruan Pienaar. Jake also found depth in Wynand Olivier and Pierre Spies; the former being used extensively in plugging gaps left by injuries in the backline. Jake lamented the many lost opportunities of this campaign but was optimistic about the various changes they made to their defensive patterns and saw it as an important learning cuve ahead of the World Cup the following year

FB 15Josh LewseyRW 14Mark CuetoOC 13Mathew TaitIC 12Jamie NoonLW 11Ben CohenFH 10Andy GoodeSH 9Peter RichardsN8 8Martin Corry (c)OF 7Pat SandersonBF 6Joe WorsleyRL 5Chris JonesLL 4Tom PalmerTP 3Julian WhiteHK 2Lee MearsLP 1Phil VickeryReplacements:H 16George Chuter ' 17Tim PayneL 18Ben Kay 'F 19Lewis Moody 'SH 20Shaun Perry 'FH 21Toby Flood ' 22Mark van GisbergenCoach:Andy Robinson FB 15Frans SteynRW 14Akona NdunganeOC 13Wynand OlivierIC 12Jean de VilliersLW 11Bryan HabanaFH 10André PretoriusSH 9Ricky JanuarieN8 8Danie RossouwOF 7Juan SmithBF 6Kabamba FloorsRL 5Johann MullerLL 4Johan AckermannTP 3BJ BothaHK 2John Smit (c)LP 1CJ van der LindeReplacements:F 16Chiliboy RalepelleP 17Deon Carstens 'F 18Albert van den Berg 'F 19Gerrie Britz ' 20Ruan Pienaar ' 21Jaco Pretorius 22Bevin FortuinCoach:John Smit

The final match against World XV

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References