Preview: History shows Ireland can react in second Test against South Africa

The theme of the week in the Irish camp is that there will be no tapping out.

Ireland don't lose often under Andy Farrell, and when they do, they tend to go down with a fight.

The Ireland head coach wasn’t pleased with his side after last week’s 27-20 defeat to South Africa, and made his feelings clear on Thursday after he named his squad for this afternoon’s second Test.

The one element he did praise his team for, however, is the fact that they never go away.

Looking back over Farrell’s time in charge, it’s hard to pick out even one occasion where they took a hammering on the scoreboard. Even in the defeats when they’ve given the opposition a head start, like France away in 2020 and 2022, England away in 2020, and the World Cup quarter-final against the All Blacks, there’s been an ability to stay in the fight, even if they’re struggling to find their top gear.

Last week’s first Test followed a similar pattern. Ireland never got their noses in front at Loftus Versfeld, and were a clear second best on the day, but there’s been a realisation in both the Irish and South African camps that the scoreboard was closer than it really should have been.

History has also shown that Farrell’s Ireland reacts well to a bloody nose.

Ireland have only lost consecutive games once in Farrell’s tenure, and that was more than three years ago in the opening rounds of the 2021 Six Nations. Since then, there have only been five defeats, and the first four of those have been met with impressive wins straight after.

Some of those recoveries, like down in New Zealand in 2022, or in Marseille to start the Six Nations this year, have been up there with the best we’ve ever seen from Ireland, and given this week’s opposition, location and the injury toll,