2006 South Africa rugby union tour of Ireland and England

Main article: 2006 end-of-year rugby union tests

2006 South Africa rugby union tour of Ireland and England
Manager	Jake White
Tour captain(s)	John Smit
Summary	P W D L
Total	04 02 00 02
Test match	03 01 00 02
Opponent	P W D L
Ireland	1 0 0 1
England	2 1 0 1

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. ^[1] 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. ^[2]

11 November 2006 17:00 WET

Ireland	32–15	South Africa
Try: Trimble D. Wallace Horan Horgan Con: O'Gara (3) Pen: O'Gara (2)	Report	Try: F. Steyn Habana Con: A. Pretorius Pen: A. Pretorius

Lansdowne Road, Dublin Attendance: 41,000 Referee: Paul Honiss (New Zealand)

Ireland

South Africa

FB 15 Girvan Dempsey RW 14 Shane Horgan OC 13 Brian O'Driscoll (c) IC 12 Gordon D'Arcy LW 11 Andrew Trimble  67' FH 10 Ronan O'Gara  79' SH 9 Peter Stringer  75' N8 8 Denis Leamy OF 7 David Wallace BF 6 Neil Best  61' RL 5 Paul O'Connell  79' LL 4 Donncha O'Callaghan TP 3 John Hayes HK 2 Rory Best  79' LP 1 Marcus Horan  67' Replacements: HK 16 Frankie Sheahan  79' PR 17 Bryan Young  67' LK 18 Malcolm O'Kelly  79' FL 19 Simon Easterby  61' SH 20 Isaac Boss  75' FH 21 Paddy Wallace  79' WG 22 Geordan Murphy  67' Coach: Eddie O'Sullivan

FB 15 Bevin Fortuin RW 14 Jaco Pretorius  75' OC 13 Bryan Habana IC 12 Jean de Villiers LW 11 François Steyn FH 10 André Pretorius SH 9 Ricky Januarie 4' to 9' N8 8 Pierre Spies OF 7 Juan Smith BF 6 Danie Rossouw  67' RL 5 Albert van den Berg LL 4 Johan Ackermann  14' TP 3 CJ van der Linde HK 2 John Smit (c) LP 1 Lawrence Sephaka  40' Replacements: HK 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle PR 17 BJ Botha  40' LK 18 Johann Muller  14' N8 19 Jacques Cronjé  67' FH 20 Ruan Pienaar  4'  9' CE 21 Wynand Olivier  75' FB 22 JP Pietersen Coach: 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. ^[3]

18 November 2006 14:30 GMT

England	23–21	South Africa
Try: Cueto Vickery Con: Goode (2) Pen: Hodgson (2) Goode	Report	Try: James A. Ndungane Con: James Pen: James (2) Drop: F. Steyn

Twickenham Stadium, London Attendance: 81,512 Referee: Steve Walsh (New Zealand)

England

South Africa

FB 15 Josh Lewsey RW 14 Mark Cueto OC 13 Mathew Tait IC 12 Jamie Noon LW 11 Ben Cohen FH 10 Charlie Hodgson  39' SH 9 Peter Richards  69' N8 8 Martin Corry (c) OF 7 Pat Sanderson  57' BF 6 Joe Worsley RL 5 Ben Kay  57' LL 4 Tom Palmer TP 3 Julian White HK 2 George Chuter  57' LP 1 Andrew Sheridan  49' Replacements: HK 16 Lee Mears  57' PR 17 Phil Vickery  49' LK 18 Chris Jones  57' FL 19 Lewis Moody  57' SH 20 Shaun Perry  69' FH 21 Andy Goode  39' FB 22 Toby Flood Coach: Andy Robinson

FB 15 François Steyn RW 14 Akona Ndungane OC 13 Wynand Olivier IC 12 Jean de Villiers LW 11 Bryan Habana FH 10 Butch James  57' SH 9 Ricky Januarie  74' N8 8 Jacques Cronjé  40' OF 7 Danie Rossouw BF 6 Pierre Spies RL 5 Johann Muller LL 4 Johan Ackermann  77' TP 3 BJ Botha HK 2 John Smit (c) LP 1 CJ van der Linde  69' Replacements: HK 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle PR 17 Deon Carstens  69' LK 18 Albert van den Berg  77' N8 19 Hilton Lobberts  40' SH 20 Ruan Pienaar  74' FH 21 André Pretorius  57' FB 22 Bevin Fortuin Coach: 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 ^[4]

25 November 2006

England	14–25	South Africa
Try: Cueto Pen: Goode 3		Try: van der Linde Con: A. Pretorius Pen: A. Pretorius 2 Drop: A. Pretorius 4

Twickenham, London Attendance: 82,000 Referee: Daniel Lewis

FB 15 Josh Lewsey RW 14 Mark Cueto OC 13 Mathew Tait IC 12 Jamie Noon LW 11 Ben Cohen FH 10 Andy Goode SH 9 Peter Richards N8 8 Martin Corry (capt.) OF 7 Pat Sanderson BF 6 Joe Worsley RL 5 Chris Jones LL 4 Tom Palmer TP 3 Julian White HK 2 Lee Mears LP 1 Phil Vickery Replacements: H 16 George Chuter ' 17 Tim Payne L 18 Ben Kay ' F 19 Lewis Moody ' SH 20 Shaun Perry ' FH 21 Toby Flood ' 22 Mark van Gisbergen Coach: Andy Robinson

FB 15 Frans Steyn RW 14 Akona Ndungane OC 13 Wynand Olivier IC 12 Jean de Villiers LW 11 Bryan Habana FH 10 André Pretorius SH 9 Ricky Januarie N8 8 Danie Rossouw OF 7 Juan Smith BF 6 Kabamba Floors RL 5 Johann Muller LL 4 Johan Ackermann TP 3 BJ Botha HK 2 John Smit (capt.) LP 1 CJ van der Linde Replacements: F 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle P 17 Deon Carstens ' F 18 Albert van den Berg ' F 19 Gerrie Britz ' 20 Ruan Pienaar ' 21 Jaco Pretorius 22 Bevin Fortuin Coach: John Smit

The final match against World XV

• source: ^[5]

3 December 2006

World XV	7–32	South Africa XV

Welford Road Stadium, Leicester

References

1. • "Ireland continue their World Cup ascent as the Springboks are left with a mountain of problems". The Guardian. 13 November 2006. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
2. "SARugby.com › News › Springboks in 100-year-old kit". Archived from the original on 31 May 2009. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
3. "Desperate England make it to the line". The Guardian. 19 November 2006. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
4. "Robinson clinging on after Pretorius drops England in it". The Observer. 26 November 2006. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
5. "Farrell backed for England conversion". The Guardian. 4 December 2006. Retrieved 26 August 2013.