In June 2016, Ireland played a three test series against South Africa as part of the 2016 mid-year rugby union tests. It was the first time that Ireland had played a test series against South Africa in South Africa since 2004. They played the Springboks across the three weeks that the June International window is allocated to; 11 June–25 June. The series was part of the fourth year of the global rugby calendar established by the International Rugby Board, which ran through to 2019.
Fixtures Date Venue Home Score Away 11 June 2016 DHL Newlands, Cape Town 20–26 18 June 2016 Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg 32–26 25 June 2016 Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth 19–13
Squads Note: Ages, caps and clubs are as per 11 June, the first test match of the tour.
Ireland On 25 May 2016, Joe Schmidt announced his 32-man squad for Ireland's June test series against South Africa.
On 2 June, Luke Fitzgerald, Dave Kearney, Rob Kearney and Johnny Sexton were all ruled out of the tour after sustaining injuries in and after the Pro12 Grand Final. Craig Gilroy, Matt Healy, Ian Madigan and Tiernan O'Halloran were called up as their replacements.
Coaching team: Head coach: Joe Schmidt Defence coach: Andy Farrell Forwards coach: Simon Easterby
South Africa On 28 May 2016, Allister Coetzee named his first squad since being appointed head coach. He included the following players in a 31-man squad for a three-test match series against the touring :
Pieter-Steph du Toit was initially named in the squad, but withdrew through injury and was replaced by Franco Mostert on 31 May 2016. However, on 6 June, Du Toit was given the all-clear by the medical staff and returned to training with the squad. Centre Jan Serfontein was ruled out for the entire series, but no replacement was named.
Pat Lambie was ruled out of the second test match after suffering a concussion in the first test and being given a mandatory rest period in line with World Rugby's Return to Play protocol. On 13 June 2016, Morné Steyn was called up to the squad as injury cover for Lambie.
Coaching team: Head coach: Allister Coetzee Backs coach: Mzwandile Stick Forwards coach: Johann van Graan Assistant coach: Matt Proudfoot
Matches First Test
FB 15Willie le RouxRW 14JP PietersenOC 13Lionel Mapoe IC 12Damian de AllendeLW 11Lwazi MvovoFH 10Pat Lambie SH 9 Faf de Klerk N8 8 Duane VermeulenOF 7 Siya KolisiBF 6 Francois Louw RL 5 Lood de Jager LL 4 Eben EtzebethTP 3 Frans Malherbe HK 2 Adriaan Strauss (c)LP 1 Tendai Mtawarira Replacements:PR 16Bongi MbonambiPR 17Trevor Nyakane HK 18Julian Redelinghuys LK 19Pieter-Steph du Toit N8 20Warren Whiteley SH 21Rudy Paige FH 22Elton Jantjies CE 23Jesse Kriel Coach: Allister Coetzee FB 15Jared PayneRW 14Andrew TrimbleOC 13Robbie Henshaw IC 12Luke MarshallLW 11Keith Earls FH 10Paddy JacksonSH 9 Conor MurrayN8 8 Jamie HeaslipOF 7 Jordi Murphy BF 6 CJ Stander RL 5 Devin TonerLL 4 Iain Henderson TP 3 Mike Ross HK 2 Rory Best (c) LP 1 Jack McGrathReplacements:HK 16Seán Cronin PR 17Finlay BealhamPR 18Tadhg Furlong LK 19Ultan Dillane FL 20Rhys Ruddock SH 21Kieran MarmionFH 22Ian MadiganWG 23Craig Gilroy Coach: Joe Schmidt Man of the Match: Devin Toner (Ireland)
Touch judges: Angus Gardner (Australia) Matthew Carley (England) Television match official: Jim Yuille (Scotland) Notes: Faf de Klerk (South Africa) made his international debut. This was Ireland's first ever victory over South Africa in South Africa.
Second Test
FB 15Willie le RouxRW 14JP PietersenOC 13Lionel MapoeIC 12Damian de AllendeLW 11Lwazi Mvovo FH 10Elton Jantjies SH 9 Faf de KlerkN8 8 Duane Vermeulen OF 7 Siya Kolisi BF 6 Francois LouwRL 5 Pieter-Steph du ToitLL 4 Eben EtzebethTP 3 Frans Malherbe HK 2 Adriaan Strauss (c)LP 1 Tendai Mtawarira Replacements:HK 16Bongi MbonambiPR 17Trevor Nyakane PR 18Julian Redelinghuys LK 19Franco Mostert N8 20Warren Whiteley SH 21Rudy PaigeFH 22Morné Steyn WG 23Ruan Combrinck Coach: Allister Coetzee FB 15Jared Payne RW 14Andrew TrimbleOC 13Robbie Henshaw IC 12Stuart OldingLW 11Craig GilroyFH 10Paddy JacksonSH 9 Conor Murray N8 8 Jamie HeaslipOF 7 Rhys Ruddock BF 6 Iain Henderson RL 5 Quinn Roux LL 4 Devin TonerTP 3 Tadhg Furlong HK 2 Rory Best (c) LP 1 Jack McGrath Replacements:HK 16Richardt Strauss PR 17Dave Kilcoyne PR 18Finlay Bealham LK 19Donnacha Ryan FL 20Sean Reidy SH 21Kieran Marmion FH 22Ian Madigan FB 23Tiernan O'Halloran Coach: Joe Schmidt Man of the Match: Ruan Combrinck (South Africa)
Touch judges: Glen Jackson (New Zealand) Ben Whitehouse (Wales) Television match official: Jim Yuille (Scotland) Notes: Ruan Combrinck and Franco Mostert (both South Africa) and Sean Reidy and Quinn Roux (Ireland) made their international debuts.
Third Test
FB 15Willie le Roux RW 14Ruan CombrinckOC 13Lionel MapoeIC 12Damian de AllendeLW 11JP PietersenFH 10Elton JantjiesSH 9 Faf de KlerkN8 8 Warren WhiteleyOF 7 Siya Kolisi BF 6 Francois LouwRL 5 Pieter-Steph du ToitLL 4 Eben Etzebeth TP 3 Frans Malherbe HK 2 Adriaan Strauss (c) LP 1 Tendai Mtawarira Replacements:HK 16Bongi Mbonambi PR 17Steven Kitshoff PR 18Julian Redelinghuys LK 19Franco Mostert FL 20Jaco Kriel SH 21Rudy PaigeFH 22Morné SteynWG 23Lwazi MvovoCoach: Allister Coetzee FB 15Tiernan O'Halloran RW 14Andrew TrimbleOC 13Luke MarshallIC 12Stuart OldingLW 11Keith Earls FH 10Paddy JacksonSH 9 Conor Murray N8 8 Jamie HeaslipOF 7 Jordi MurphyBF 6 CJ Stander RL 5 Devin TonerLL 4 Iain Henderson TP 3 Mike Ross HK 2 Rory Best (c) LP 1 Jack McGrathReplacements:HK 16Seán Cronin PR 17Finlay BealhamPR 18Tadhg Furlong LK 19Ultan Dillane FL 20Rhys Ruddock SH 21Eoin Reddan FH 22Ian Madigan WG 23Matt Healy Coach: Joe Schmidt Man of the Match: JP Pietersen (South Africa)
Touch judges: Angus Gardner (Australia) Ben Whitehouse (Wales) Television match official: Rowan Kitt (England) Notes: Steven Kitshoff, Jaco Kriel and Bongi Mbonambi (all South Africa) and Matt Healy (Ireland) made their international debuts. Conor Murray (Ireland) earned his 50th test cap. This was Eoin Reddan's last international after announcing his retirement from the professional game.
Statistics Key Con: Conversions Pen: Penalties DG: Drop goals Pts: Points
Ireland Statistics NamePlayedTriesConPenDGPtsPaddy Jackson3059140––Jamie Heaslip310005––Conor Murray310005––Devin Toner310005––Luke Marshall210005––Jared Payne210005––Rory Best300000––Tadhg Furlong300000––Iain Henderson300000––Jack McGrath300000––Rhys Ruddock300000––Andrew Trimble300000––Seán Cronin200000––Ultan Dillane200000––Keith Earls200000––Craig Gilroy200000––Robbie Henshaw2000001–Ian Madigan200000––Jordi Murphy200000––Tiernan O'Halloran200000––Stuart Olding200000––Mike Ross200000––CJ Stander200000–1Finlay Bealham100000––Matt Healy100000––Dave Kilcoyne100000––Kieran Marmion100000––Eoin Reddan100000––Sean Reidy100000––Quinn Roux100000––Donnacha Ryan100000––Richardt Strauss100000––Luke Fitzgerald–––––0––Dave Kearney–––––0––Rob Kearney–––––0––Johnny Sexton–––––0––
Test series statistics NameTeamTriesConPenDGPtsPaddy Jackson059140Elton Jantjies066030Pieter-Steph du Toit200010Ruan Combrinck10108Damian de Allende10005Jamie Heaslip10005Luke Marshall10005Conor Murray10005Lwazi Mvovo10005Jared Payne10005JP Pietersen10005Devin Toner10005Warren Whiteley10005Pat Lambie00103
See also 2016 mid-year rugby union internationals History of rugby union matches between Ireland and South Africa
References