SIR CLIVE WOODWARD: Springboks have a reason to be kicking themselves and their enthralling 13-8 defeat by Ireland re-enforced how imperative it is to have a top-class kicker

• South Africa were beaten by Ireland 13-8 on Saturday at the Rugby World Cup 
• But the Boks were let down by their kicking during the second half of the match 
• Faf de Klerk and Manie Libbok both missed several shots at goal in the game  
• Latest Rugby World Cup 2023 news, including fixtures, live scores and results

World Cup history shows the teams who have won the tournament have all had great goal kickers.

Michael Lynagh, Joel Stransky, Jonny Wilkinson, Dan Carter and Handre Pollard have all been crucial to the successes of their respective sides down the years because of their reliability from the tee.

South Africa will be back for more at the 2023 tournament in France but, for me, their 13-8 defeat by Ireland in an enthralling game in Paris reinforced just how important it is to have a top-class kicker.

The brutal reality for the Springboks is that if Manie Libbok and Faf de Klerk had not missed their chances at the posts, they arguably would have won.

I say arguably because top teams such as Ireland play to the scoreboard and if the Springboks had converted the 11 points they missed, Ireland would have played differently. Ireland did not get lucky or escape with victory on Saturday. T

South Africa were beaten by Ireland 13-8 on Saturday at the Rugby World Cup, with Faf de Klerk (pictured) missing two shots at goal in the second half

It means the Boks, the defending champions, will go second in the group behind Ireland

Manie Libbok (right) also missed a couple of shots at goal during the second half of the game 

hey were outstanding and probably still deserved to win, even though their line-out struggled.

The Stade de France epic simply showed me Libbok is not among the best with the boot. He missed a conversion and a penalty. De Klerk also missed two penalties, albeit from range. You just can’t afford to do that in big World Cup games.

Springbok head coach Jacques Nienaber said the missed kicks were not the only reason his team lost. That may be the case, but it was the main contributing factor.

Libbok is a brilliant attacking player and South Africa were right to defend him when he also missed kicks in the Scotland win. But I think they have to make a big call with him now.

It doesn’t mean they have to drop Libbok, but they either hand the kicking duties to Damian Willemse or find a way of getting Pollard back into the team. For me, Pollard has to come into the starting XV.

South Africa’s hooker situation is also interesting. When Malcolm Marx was injured, they called up a fly-half in Pollard instead. Against Ireland, Deon Fourie — who plays hooker and back-row — threw a not-straight line-out at a crucial time. The smallest details can make a big difference at World Cups.

Johnny Sexton (pictured) led Ireland to victory during what was an enthralling encounter at the Stade de France

Mack Hansen (pictured) scored the only try of the match to help Ireland secure the victory 

Ireland’s latest victory means they have now won their last 16 matches. It’s a hugely impressive run.

They put down a World Cup marker in a game that was worthy of the final. I wouldn’t bet against these two teams meeting again in Paris on October 28.

Andy Farrell will be delighted and what will please him most is that even though his team won, they can still play better. To lose six of their 18 line-outs won’t have pleased Farrell one bit!

The Ireland and South Africa game was a wonderful spectacle and utterly enthralling. The atmosphere was brilliant and made by Ireland’s remarkable travelling support.

It felt like the first time since the opening night that the World Cup really came alive.

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