SOUTH AFRICA COACH Heyneke Meyer said today he was “ashamed” by the manner of the team’s tour-opening defeat by Ireland and promised they wouldn’t lack for motivation against England this weekend.
The Springboks, fresh from ending world champions New Zealand’s near two-year unbeaten run, suffered a shock 29-15 loss in Dublin last weekend, with their kicking game in particular exposed by the Irish.
“You are going to lose games, even if you’re South Africa,” Meyer said Wednesday at the squad’s London hotel after announcing his team to play England at Twickenham on Saturday.
“Ireland was one of those strange games — we won everything except on the scoreboard,” he added.
“The result was a wake-up call for me as a coach and for the team as well.
“There’s no shame in losing, but I was ashamed by our performance. We have to learn from that. We can’t make the same mistakes again.
“The one thing we are not good at is our kicking game and the contestables. England and New Zealand are very good at that.
“We have been the best in the world at that, but as a nation we have fallen behind,” Meyer explained.
Meyer has made five changes to the starting XV but retained the same matchday 23 that played in Dublin and significantly dropped both half-backs Francois Hougaard and fly-half Handre Pollard to the bench.
Wing JP Pietersen, fly-half Pat Lambie, scrum-half Cobus Reinach, flanker Schalk Burger and hooker Adriaan Strauss have all been promoted to the starting XV.
Meanwhile Meyer became the latest coach to dismiss all suggestions of gaining a psychological advantage by winning at Twickenham less than a year out from the 2015 World Cup.
England’s headquarters ground will be the venue for all but two quarter-finals come the knockout phase of next year’s global showpiece competition.
However, New Zealand coach Steve Hansen — speaking after the All Blacks’ 24-21 win over England at Twickenham last Saturday — labelled the idea that the result had implications for the World Cup as a “load of baloney”.
- ‘Almost better to lose’ -
And Meyer went even further Wednesday in downplaying the long-term importance of the fixture.
“I truly believe what happens now will not have a big influence on the World Cup,” he said.
“In a sense it’s almost better if you lose as your guys will then know they will have to step it up.
“I’m not saying we should lose of course, but there are so many nuances,” he stressed.
“You can’t say because you have won at Twickenham you now have the edge next time because you then get complacent. The World Cup is a different thing.
“If you look at 2007 when South Africa won the World Cup, they lost a lot of games that year and that didn’t make a huge difference.”
South Africa haven’t lost to England in 11 matches, with their last defeat a 23-21 reverse at Twickenham in 2006.
England, for historic reasons that apply in many sports, remain the team all others want to beat and Meyer said his Springboks would not lack for motivation on Saturday.
“You don’t have to motivate the guys against England. They know it’s a huge challenge and they know there’s an unbelievable heritage going back so many years.
“This week we don’t have to say anything — we know the players will be motivated. It will be an unbelievable atmosphere, a real pressure cooker.”
England coach Stuart Lancaster is due to name his side on Thursday.
Interesting how quickly Munster articles are ‘toxicated’ by Leinster and Connacht fans, making up whatever they like just to turn the screw, pretty obvious to see why provincial social media accounts shut their comments down. Keep it together ya’ll it’s just entertainment.
@Thesaltyurchin: what is being made up? And what is toxic?
@Thesaltyurchin: as in, your comment asked whether any other province is getting international matches, I pointed out that they aren’t allowed to as reported by a Cork-based national newspaper no less, you comment supporters of other provinces are toxic, and say ChatGPT agrees with you. I believe a non toxic comment section for you implies you saying Munster only get these matches because teams rather play them than the other provinces, everyone agrees, and we sing stand up and fight.
@Joe Vlogs: Lol
@Thesaltyurchin: Would examples of other articles being “toxicated” include any reference to a Leinster and Ireland outhalf being subject to a “conspiracy,” at multiple levels, to somehow get him included on a Lions tour ahead of an incumbent Munster outhalf? ;)
@Joe Vlogs: Everything you post is made up :) and ALL of it is because you hate Munster MORE than you like Connacht, who’s articles could use the attention too, yet still, your here, upping the ad revenue and popularity of a team you hate? The mind boggles how much energy you have for it.
@Thesaltyurchin: just because you say I make up something doesn’t mean I made it up. All the figures I posted are from reliable sources…either the Irish times, the Examiner, or the IRFU’s own accounts, and this again was only in response to a fake statement. You know quite well why Munster get these matches, and yet you posted asked why other provinces weren’t applying for them. The fact I point it out isn’t anti Munster, it is merely a clarification of mistruths being posted. Somehow, that makes me obsessed? I think the fact you seem to think ChatGPT is more trustworthy than a professional journalist is telling, so maybe you should be the one concerned of where the ad revenue of a sports app goes.
@Thesaltyurchin: Turn what screw? Why would Leinster fans care about anything Munster related when their team is absolutely thriving in the URC and the Champions cup. Munster fans have been widely outspoken negatively towards Leinster this season and last season so don’t be surprised if you get some backlash towards you as a lot of fans have been very vocal on here for absolutely no reason other than jealousy and bitterness.
@Thesaltyurchin: Why cant u just talk about the post
@Carmine Lorenzo:
Don’t be so paranoid. There was no conspiracy against anyone. I’d advise you to read the article on the sky sports website about where the Irish team went wrong in their pursuit of the grand slam. It is a very objective article from a neutral journalist.
I posted after the England game that Prendergast did nothing to justify his selection ahead of Crowley and I stand by that. I also said that now he had been chosen the right thing to do would be to stick with him. Unfortunately he didn’t have a good campaign. It wasn’t even average. He could do with volunteering to go to that tackle school that Ringrose went to.
It is not his fault of course. The management had a terrible tournament and selecting Prendergast for the England game was the first of many
@Harry O’ Callaghan: Leinster are “ thriving” and have won sfa in the last 4/5 years….. amazballs!
@Joe O’Donnell: Paranoid? I think you need to look in the mirror pal :) Have a look on Munster fans.com about Crowley and Prendergast. The tin foil hats have been sold out for weeks in the south west of the country!
@Harry O’ Callaghan: Go to the Leinster article Harry, it’s like a sunny beach by comparison, you lads are different people there.
@Cian: Keep up Cian
Genuine question. Do these novelty matches lose their appeal quick? SA in the pairc was a super night. Crusaders was a bore fest. Now this.. seems like an excuse of a game and likely always 2 x second string teams?
@Barry Lehane: should it be more of a once every 4 years type event is what i mean. Or once per year on provincial rotation.
@Barry Lehane: Novelty or not they are nearly always sold out and don’t seem to have lost their appeal yet.
@Barry Lehane: They are a waste of time. If they want to play Argentina, they should move the test game from the Aviva to pairc ui chomaigh in Cork. Spread rugby around the country, increase the popularity and we actually might get some atmosphere at a test game outside of the nonchalant crowd at the aviva.
@Stanley Marsh – Cant spell dont care: or is the reason they moved this one away from the Pairc because they know the last one fell flat and wont sell it out again. Nothing against it but all just a bit meh.
@John Clifford: There are 10 year seats purchased for the Aviva on the basis that ALL Ireland International Games are played there. The Union’s hands are completely tied with regards to moving games.
@John Clifford: And pay off Corks GAA debt …… jog on lad!
@John Clifford: Aviva sponsorship of stadium requires all capped test matches to be played there.
Hopefully they check the time of the NZ game in mercaw. I’m sure they will. Have any of the other provinces scooped pay days during the Nov internationals?
@Thesaltyurchin: historically yes, they have played international touring sides, but recently not so much
@Thesaltyurchin: as previously reported by the Irish Examiner, the IRFU have an embargo on any other province bidding for touring tier 1 sides. Ostensibly to recoup money from the Thomond redevelopment loan, given the IRFU takes a cut of the revenue. Don’t know if this a temporary policy or not – hard to find more details on it beyond what journalists report.
@Joe Vlogs: this isn’t a Tier 1 side, it’s a XV side, below the level of an A side.
@Joe Vlogs: hard to see the need to recoup money from the thomond loan seeing as munster are meeting the financial obligations of the loan as per the loan agreement. its merely munster securing additional revenue streams, no different to them holding summer concerts in thomond or musgrave park which is also a good idea to utilise the facilities in the off season.
@Joe Vlogs: Chat GBT has a reasonable amount of nothing as well: “Regarding Munster, there is no specific information indicating that the IRFU has ever imposed an embargo preventing other provinces from bidding for touring Tier 1 sides. All provinces are subject to the same regulatory framework, requiring IRFU approval for hosting international touring teams.” (IFRU, Wiki, TheJournal are the sources). I fancy a few in Dexcom once the capacity is there.
@Niall English: they are meeting repayments, because the loan was restructured to effectively become a one percent interest loan, with a far longer period to repay it. They owed €10.45 million as of last year’s accounts, and are obliged to pay €200,000 a year – giving Munster approximately 52 years to pay off the loan, or by 2077. This agreement was reached after the IRFU gave Munster a bailout during COVID in 2022 when it was struggling with repayments. However, as part of the agreement, the IRFU is taking a bigger take of these extra revenue raising events, amounting to half of the income, as well as 50% of any renaming rights for Thomond Park.
@Thesaltyurchin: I’m not sure if I would trust ChatGPT over a journalist who unequivocally says Munster are the only province with a licence to host these matches. You can perhaps contact Tony Leen about it…see why he says that, when ChatGPT says otherwise.
@Joe Vlogs: LOL… I should trust a known Munster hate machine over software that manages mass information? Chat GBT ‘gathers the information, sites it’s sources? like from the same journalists you trust no doubt?
@Joe Vlogs: “As of 2020, Munster Rugby’s debt from the Thomond Park redevelopment stood at €6.7 million. The original redevelopment, completed in 2008, cost €42 million, with Munster receiving an €11.7 million loan from the IRFU to support the project. By 2019, this debt had been reduced to €6.86 million, and the repayment schedule had been restructured to ease financial pressures. (UCC Express, Irish Examiner, The 42)
In recent years, Munster Rugby has made significant strides in improving its financial position. In 2022, the company operating Thomond Park reported revenues of €1.52 million, up from €650,342 in 2021, thanks in part to hosting major events like Ed Sheeran concerts. Additionally, Munster Rugby’s Chief Operating Officer, Philip Quinn, indicated that the organization is expecting to at least break even in the 2023-24 season, marking a positive trend towards financial stability.
(Limerick Live, Limerick Leader, Irish Examiner).
@Joe Vlogs: Could you send the link to this article?
It’s interesting that you have such issues with the munster loan and not with connachts endless grant money even being awarded more money than the limits of a grant scheme allows. but still fell short of “connachts demands for an extra 10 million” this doesn’t even count the 10 million connachts received a few years before this grant. Connacht wanted/demanded 30 million getting 20 so far yet you have an issue with munster having a 10 million loan.
@Patrick O’Sullivan: If you do actually feel strongly on this i suggest you contact your province to demand they repay the grant money back to those who supplied it to them. €200,000. A year might be a bit much for connacht to repay per year. Yes some concerts will help but i dont see many international XV sides looking to play as it probably wouldn’t make financial sense
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/taoiseach-pledges-extra-10m-to-new-connacht-rugby-stadium-1.4136334
@Patrick O’Sullivan: This is ridiculous. First, I correct the og poster who intimates other provinces don’t apply for these matches, as opposed to can’t apply. Then when a poster says Munster doesn’t have loan issues, I post the response showing that they do, but that it was restructured. Now you think I should be arguing against Connacht putting in a successful grant applications (i.e., doing a good job showing the economic benefits of Connacht rugby to the local economy), because I point out Munster has a large debt burden? Connacht got 0 credit extended to them by the IRFU – they are making up the shortfall in funding through private sources, stadium renaming deals (why hasn’t Munster renamed Thomond?) and general belt tightening, and yet Connacht is the problem?
@Patrick O’Sullivan: “new accounts are restricted from posting links”, apparently, but just Google the Irish times article from last November: “IRFU records a deficit of €18.4 million in annual accounts”
@Thesaltyurchin: ChatGPT literally says it cannot access Irish examiner links because of pay walls. So it is admitting it can only access some information. If you think ChatGPT is a reliable resource, then you might also think the earth is flat and Trump won in 2020…I’ve bad news for you on both counts. LLMs hallucinate all the time. Even if you ask for a link, half the times you click on it, you will see it has absolutely relevance to what ChatGPT was arguing.
@Joe Vlogs: Thats cause you don’t pay for it but hey as long as you get to keep insisting that there’s a mythical “embargo” that favours ONLY Munster playing showcase games
Munster supporter …another rip off match suitable for the non rugby crowd who want an occasion to take Instagram pictures at . Munster b string and kids against the midweek Argentinans …an AIL game would be far better value and standard
@Paul Byrne: whilst it may be under strength teams, the game against New Zealand XV was a fantastic occasion and game aswell last November. was alot of young kids out at that game aswell.
@Paul Byrne: Not on the aul insta brah?
@Paul Byrne: It’s spreading the love of rugby to a broader audience, I can’t see anything negative about it. it will be a great experience for the young guys from both teams
@Joe Vlogs: one rule for Moanster one rule for the rest as usual.
@Patrick Breen: have other provinces sought permission of the IRFU to play touring sides
@Liam23: See Joe’s comment above
@Liam23: have touring sides ever heard of connacht?
@Liam23: Nah, why would they when they can barely break even by playing Queensland Reds instead?
@Patrick Breen: maybe ye should be creative in Leinster and try it yereselves some time
@munsterman: we played South Africa before the 2007 world cup, which they went on and won.
@Cian Halley: Leinster routinely sell out over 80,000 in the largest stadium in the country so, somehow, I think they’re alright there chief. If other provinces were actually allowed play international sides, I could see Leinster easily selling out 100,000 quite honestly.
@Cian Halley: Leinster just played 5 international games in a row there
@Carmine Lorenzo: “routinely” :) swear it was SA… nice irony tho, given that the biggest numbers are against Munster. Do we get those attendance figures too? OR only the winning team gets the stat.
@Patrick Breen: all this ‘bluster’ based on actually nothing.
@Patrick Breen: we will let you dig out that old munster jersey you still have hanging in the back of the closest, back when you and the rest of your lot were die hard munster fans(you dont need to be from munster to be a munster fan is what ye lot used to say)
Munster v Argentina XV and the connacht fans go wild. My days just shows how bad things must being one.
@Thesaltyurchin: I suppose if you want to look at home tie attendances, you could look at Thomond Park, which incidentally was only sold out for one match last season – against Leinster in the URC, and didn’t sell out any Champions cup match.
@Joe Vlogs: Weak, granular ‘I suppose’ nonsense. I like Connacht so really don’t want to bring that into it. Hopefully the attendance in Castlebar goes some why to quenching your bitterness in this department.
Well done munster another great bit of business this.
Nice. Should be a good one. Munster the main show once again
Brilliant one of the few touring sides I haven’t seen in Thomond. Will be another full house. it’s also really telling how these touring sides want to play Munster, shows the respect we have globally. looking forward to it.
Anyway they can make both teams play their strongest XV?
Munster get too much hyped up about these nothing fixtures. They fill the ground to play these reserves, congratulate themselves for hard fought performance, and talk about some mythical spirit. All BS. When they played Glasgow in the SF of the URC the ground was only 60% full. Misaligned objectives imo. Time to cop on and dispense with this ceremonial nonsense.
@JJB: What hype? This is all just your perception. In Limerick it’s just another game of rugby. All the “bs” as you put it, comes from the media and desperate punters looking for a paycheque, and then people who react badly to all that (ie you).