- Lebanon crowdfunded ambulances under fire in Israel-Hezbollah war
- S Korean Nobel winner Han Kang hopes daily life 'won't change much'
- Pakistan extend lead beyond 200 in second England Test
- Liam Payne: One Direction singer swept up by teenage stardom
- Zelensky defends 'victory plan' at EU and NATO
- Vietnam death row tycoon jailed for life in separate trial
- Hard talk on migration tops agenda at EU summit
- Beckham says Ratcliffe needs time to revive Man Utd
- Conway puts New Zealand in lead after India bowled out for 46
- New Japan PM sends offering to Yasukuni war shrine
- S Korean court recognises misogyny as hate crime motive
- Couche-Tard executives in Japan to push 7-Eleven deal
- Martin targets mistake-free Australia MotoGP as Bagnaia lurks
- Tennis world No. 1 Swiatek hires stars' coach Fissette
- French Senate speaker 'astounded' by Macron 'ignorance' on Israel
- Israel strikes Syria, US pounds Huthis in Yemen
- India all out for record home Test low of 46 against New Zealand
- China says UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy to visit this week
- Iran Guards chief warns will hit Israel 'painfully' if attacks Iranian targets
- Pakistan tottering at 43-3 in England Test after Bashir takes three
- Zelensky in Brussels to defend 'victory plan' at EU and NATO
- Markets mixed as China's latest stimulus leaves traders wanting
- Climate-hit Pacific Islands plot landmark UN court case
- India collapse to 34-6 after opting to bat against New Zealand
- Israel strikes Syrian city, US pounds Huthis in Yemen
- Taiwan's TSMC posts sharp rise in third quarter net profit
- Pakistan's Sajid takes seven as England all out 291, trail by 75
- Kenya Senate to vote on deputy president's impeachment
- Bronski Beat's gay anthem 'Smalltown Boy' strikes chord 40 years on
- NATO to weigh Zelensky plan in US vote's shadow
- Trial into Brazil mining disaster to open in London
- Italy's Di Giannantonio to miss final two MotoGP for surgery
- Hard talk on migration expected at EU summit
- South Korea's Hwang Ui-jo faces four years in jail for sex video
- Israel pounds Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon
- India slams 'cavalier' Trudeau in Sikh separatist murder row
- 'Love match' apps rival traditional matchmaking in Pakistan
- Asian markets rally but China's latest stimulus leaves traders wanting
- UN report says 1.1 billion people in acute poverty
- Vietnam death row tycoon awaits verdict in new trial
- 'Our time has come': the female Indian director hoping to make Oscars history
- Bondi beach 'closed' as Sydney shores hit by 'tar balls'
- Dodgers smash Mets to seize lead in MLB playoff series
- China to almost double support for unfinished housing projects
- King Charles heads to Australia, a nation shrugs
- China to boost credit for property market, renovate 1 mn homes
- New York fight back to take 2-1 lead over Lynx in WNBA Finals
- Family feud reignites over Singapore ex-PM's historic home
- ECB set to cut rates again as inflation cools
- Malinin, Sakamoto headline pre-Winter Olympics figure skating season
Mallett blames change of tactics for Springbok defeat by Ireland
Former Springbok coach Nick Mallett said a change of tactics late in the match led to South Africa's one-point defeat in a rugby thriller against Ireland at King's Park on Saturday.
In a battle between the two top-ranked teams in world rugby, Ireland won the second Test 25-24 when replacement flyhalf Ciaran Frawley kicked a last-minute drop goal.
Speaking on SuperSport television, Mallett gave credit to Ireland and their coach Andy Farrell for the way they came back after being beaten 27-20 in the first Test in Pretoria.
"It was a brilliant Test match. It was very, very astute coaching," he said of the way Farrell prepared the visiting team at the end of a campaign that effectively stretched for a full year.
"They didn't need to do any fitness training, they needed to relax. It was a lot of mental preparation."
Mallett said the match was a reversal of the first Test.
"We (South Africa) came out and shot the lights out in that first 40 minutes and put them under pressure (in Pretoria) and they did exactly the same to us this time."
But he was impressed by the way the Springboks came back after trailing 16-6 at half-time.
"It wasn't by kicking the ball back, it was by running the ball back," he said, with replacement fullback Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu beating defenders and getting the Springboks on the front foot, forcing Ireland into errors and conceding penalties.
Springbok flyhalf Handre Pollard scored all South Africa's points by kicking eight penalty goals, six of them in the second half.
But having turned a 10-point deficit into a five-point lead with 15 minutes to go, the Springboks went on the defensive, according to Mallett.
"We tried to protect the lead," he said.
"Everything we did to get ahead we stopped doing. We started kicking downfield hoping to get territory but they decided to hold onto the ball.
"It's just such a pity we didn't carry on playing the way we had before that."
Mallett also pointed out that the Springboks had won three successive knockout matches by one point on their way to winning the World Cup last year.
"Just as those teams went away thinking of all the 'what-ifs', so the Springboks can think of those small margins," said Mallett.
- 'Why no third Test?' -
Former Ireland flank, South African-born CJ Stander, said Ireland had controlled the narrative in "a great Test match".
Stander said it was unfortunate that the two sides will not meet again in the immediate future, with the Springboks not playing against Ireland on their end-of-year tour to the northern hemisphere.
With the series between the two top teams in the world tied up at 1-1, many were asking why there was no decider.
"We always knew this series would come down to special moments," said former Springbok captain Jean de Villiers.
"Two dropped goals right at the end to clinch it for Ireland... why do we not have a third Test match?"
Instead of preparing for a decider, the Springboks will field a much-changed team against low-ranked Portugal in their next fixture in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
A.Rodriguezv--AMWN