474 : Ireland v South Africa wrap

2025 Quilter Nations Series, Aviva Stadium, Dublin 22/11/2025 Ireland vs South Africa Referee Matthew Carley awards Ireland’s Sam Prendergast a yellow cardMandatory Credit ©INPHO/Gary Carr


🏉 The cards

🏉 The chaos

🏉 The Carley factor

🏉 The carnage

🏉 The character


CIAN O’MUILLEOIR


FULL TIME TAKES

Greg Kelly

Thoughts..

Sasha gets the YC he should have then it changes the opening 20 mins.

Ryan may have ended his stint as a front liner with his stupidity there.

Interested to know how the SA LHP can hinge down 3 times in a row and they Paddy Mc gets a YC 😵‍💫

Mathew Carley lost control and composure and he lost buy in from the Irish players.

Christy O’Connor

I can’t disagree with any of our cards, except that Ryan’s could’ve been a straight red. Sacha should’ve been carded though. We were panicky when on the ball, took us for ever to get out of our own half in the 2nd half.

The better team won in the end, but other than their scrum, I don’t think SA were all that great.

David Harold

SA didn’t go out to win the match. They went out to “beat” Ireland. But the ended up winning the match. And deservedly so.

Gavin Hegarty

My problem is at what rugby has become.

A ref, two touch judges and a tmo review sfms no wrap shoulder to the head of Tob and deem it only a penalty by not applying the correct laws.

The same laws they apply to Ryan’s moment of madness.

Can’t help but feel this was influenced by the same outcry over reds this week. Carley and his team copped out.

That early in the game it could have made a huge difference.

After this Ireland did themselves no favours but honestly did well to stay in the game.

RGs card being rescinded soon after was a new one to me! If it was red would it have been! No.

World rugby need to halt where rugby is going. You now have tmos that want the spotlight and we are spending far too long reviewing footage. For this to happen and still have the wrong outcome is pathetic.

John O Halloran

What did I just watch? A mental game, a bizarre reffing performance, a bizarre Irish performance of indisipline, and more subs than the battle of the Atlantic.

Cormac Mannion

The lack of a card for Feinberg set the tone for the rest of the match. I hate Carley or Dickson reffing either a Leinster or Ireland match and he didn’t fail to disappoint once again tonight

I don’t know if it’s hilarious or pathetic how the Saffa trolls are out in force once again tonight. Some are even still bleating about ROG’s try in 2004.

Oh well, they can press their grubby noses to the window in February when the 6N starts once again as they whimper to be allowed to compete in it.

Kevin Kelehan

Worst refereeing performance of 2025, destroyed the contest by letting Rassie get inside his head. Boks ruthless scrummagers, Ireland died with their boots on, Could have been a 40 point defeat when down to 12 men

Bert McLoughlin

Carley should do us a favour and retire. Boks could have beaten us by way more if they actually played a bit of rugby instead of being 🔔🔚’s and trying to pummel our pack (anti rugby if you will) they along with Carley killed the game as a spectacle

GIFsRugbyNStuff (‪@gifsrugbynstuff.bsky.social‬)

Ireland’s finishing XV

Paddy Mc Kelleher Bealham

Beirne Prendergast

Doris Conan one armed vdF

Casey Sam

JGP bundee Farrell ringrose 

Crowley

Justin Deegan‬ ‪(@justindeegan.bsky.social‬)

Having 15 on the field is always a help. I had the head bitten off me before when I said Ireland’s discipline not as foremost as it was a couple of years ago. Well, I hope today was the culmination rather than the next step down. Piss poor.

Early subs from Sth Africa also took their foot off their pedal.

Get in the conversation yourself by leaving

your own thoughts each week after the full time whistle

in Leinster & Ireland matches on our Facebook page


NOVEMBER WRAP

Georgia 23-25 Japan

Romania 21-31 Uruguay

Wales 26-52 New Zealand

Portugal 33-27 Canada

Spain 33-41 Fiji

Italy 34-19 Chile

France 48-33 Australia

Scotland 56-0 Tonga

England 27-23 Argentina


NEXT HARPIN’

TUESDAY

BONUS CHAT : “NOVEMBER TAKEA”

WEDNESDAY

80+ COLUMN 


Leave a comment