HE EXCELLED AS a makeshift flanker against the Springboks at Newlands, but Andrew Trimble is looking forward to returning to his \u201cday job\u201d on the wing this week.<\/p>\n
Down a blindside at scrum-time following CJ Stander\u2019s early red card, Trimble was entrusted with packing down on the flank in a seven-man Irish pack.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I\u2019ll stick to the day job for now,\u201d said the Ulster winger. \u201cIt was some experience, right enough, but I think I\u2019d rather leave it there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe Schmidt\u2019s attention to detail is well-known at this stage with Trimble revealing that the squad did prepare for the eventuality of being a man down in the forwards in the lead-up to the opening Test at Newlands:<\/p>\n
\u201cBelieve it or not, we did actually look at the forward roles at one stage last week.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not sure if he [Schmidt] meant it seriously but even if he meant it as a little bit of a joke, there\u2019s a little bit of seriousness there. There was one or two times on our scrums when I was torturing Jamie [Heaslip], trying to find out what I needed to do but it all pretty much fell into place at the end so happy enough.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Source: Billy Stickland\/INPHO<\/p>\n
Trimble was central to an heroic Irish defensive effort during that eventful second-half with the home side limited to just one score; an intercept try from replacement lock Pieter-Steph du Toit.<\/p>\n
The veteran Irish winger was even part of a crucial Irish scrum which yielded a late penalty that allowed Paddy Jackson to stretch Ireland\u2019s lead to 23-13. Trimble certainly seemed to revel in being part of an eight-man shove, celebrating with Devin Toner after\u00a0Mathieu Raynal\u00a0had penalised the Boks pack.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe did yes,\u201d said Trimble on celebrating that 68th minute scrum penalty.<\/p>\n
\u201cRedser [Eoin Reddan] was giving me a hard time afterwards. All the clueless backs like myself came running in saying \u2018well done, boys!\u2019 I was there, taking the credit! Like I had anything to do with it all happening! Yeah, happy days.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trimble\u2019s Ulster team-mate Jared Payne gave Ireland a new dimension from the fullback slot with this offloading game and calm authority in the backfield.<\/p>\n
\u201cJared does what he does week in, week out at Ulster and Ireland as well,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s such a talented player, he fills me with confidence at the end of the line; knowing he\u2019s behind me; him telling me what to do, just pulling the strings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cHe talks up the game very well, he knows the game very well.<\/p>\n
Source: Billy Stickland\/INPHO<\/p>\n
\u201cTypically, if you follow him around the pitch you tend to get a few offloads so I managed to do that. \u00a0He\u2019s a talented boy, everybody knows how talented he is and he\u2019s done it again for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Perhaps feeling the pressure after overseeing a first-ever loss against an Irish side on South African soil, Springboks head coach\u00a0Allister Coetzee stated yesterday that the visitors \u201cweren\u2019t interested in playing\u201d at Newlands.<\/p>\n
Coetzee\u2019s comments seemed all the more bizarre considering his side\u2019s numerical superiority for the majority of the match.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith 14 men it\u2019s very difficult,\u201d Trimble explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe put on one or two new plays that we had preferred before the game, but roles change and it\u2019s very difficult to organise things whenever you\u2019ve got a winger on the flank and you\u2019ve got no flanker.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were very clever, very streetwise and showed our experience being able to play the game with 14 men for 60 minutes, we\u2019re very proud of what we did.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Only New Zealand [1996] and the British and Irish Lions [1997] have claimed series victories against the Boks which tells you everything about the impending challenge over the next fortnight.<\/p>\n
Trimble and his team-mates have a chance to make history at Ellis Park, but they know they must resist a brutal backlash from the stung hosts if they are to reach a summit where so many sides have failed to reach in the past.<\/p>\n
\u201cOther sides have struggled to do it. There\u2019s a reason why they\u2019ve struggled because it\u2019s really, really difficult to do and for us to go out there again we need to produce another massive performance. Physically we need to be switched on, mentally we need to be switched on.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast week\u2019s gone now. Certainly we enjoyed getting a few pats on the back but we\u2019ve got another job to do now and it\u2019s pretty exciting to be in a position to create another bit of history.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Springboks call up experienced out-half Steyn after Lambie\u2019s injuryJones scathing of England\u2019s \u2018disrespectful\u2019 treatment in Australia <\/p><\/div>\n
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