HANDRÉ POLLARD HUNG up an early bomb and Jamie Osborne passed the test, calmly defusing it.
He was soon scrambling across the pitch in an attempt to rescue Ireland as the Springboks sprung into attacking life but Kurt-Lee Arendse’s footwork proved to be lethal once again.
There aren’t many players who can stop Arendse in that kind of one-on-one situation. Osborne hasn’t been in that situation very often, given how he usually plays in midfield rather than at fullback, as he did for Ireland in their first Test defeat to the Springboks.
Osborne then had an error close to the touchline from a brilliant Cheslin Kolbe exit kick but again it was the kind of thing that underlined just how little Osborne has played in the back three in the last couple of seasons.
Centres generally aren’t the last defender covering across or the person set up close to the touchline, so the rust was understandable.
From there, Osborne grew into the game. He covered a Pollard grubber kick well at one stage, riding a big tackle from Kolbe to stay infield. He carried strongly a couple of times, then took his try in the 35th minute well, gathering James Lowe’s offload on the juggle and stretching out to dot down.
His last act of the night before being replaced in the 51st minute due to a groin injury was a left-footed kick to touch.
“I’m extremely proud to have played for my country,” said Osborne. “Obviously, it’s tough to lose but the lads have made the week very special for me. I’ve enjoyed the week, enjoyed the match despite the result.
“To be fair, playing fullback when you are coming down to South Africa, you are going to experience plenty of high balls and kicks. I was happy with some of my aerial stuff and then Kolbe’s kick was a bit disappointing. I felt like the touches I got I was happy enough.”
Despite the defeat at Loftus Versfeld, Osborne will cherish the memories of his first Ireland cap. Leinster team-mate Garry Ringrose presented his jersey to him on Thursday evening and said a few nice words.
Osborne’s family joined on FaceTime and there were lots of other good luck messages from those who played with and coached him in Naas RFC, the Leinster and Ireland Youths, and a few other places.
Osborne took a moment during the anthems to soak it all in, appreciating where he had got to, before his focus centred on the match again.
He got a perfect highlight with that debut try.
“It is the thing you dream of, it all happened very quick, and I was probably juggling it over the line as well,” said Osborne. “I was delighted, and delighted to see that Lowey stayed infield.”
Osborne said his groin injury was “just a bang” and that he hopes to get another chance for Ireland as they prepare for the second Test in Durban this weekend.
He knows there’s more to come from Andy Farrell’s side.
“We spoke at half time, the first half wasn’t up to our standard, we didn’t impose ourselves on the game in the first half,” said Osborne.
“We were a bit lucky to be still in it at halftime. I thought the character the lads showed in the last 10 to 15 minutes, we let them in for a score but went back down and scored again, showed good character. There are a few small fix-ups that we can definitely improve for next week.”
