ON THE FACE of it, Ireland’s warm-up for facing the Springboks wasn’t all that different from how France teed themselves up to beat South Africa in their epic Test in Paris on Friday night.
The French ran eight tries past Fiji in a 54-17 win the weekend before edging past the best team in the world.
On Saturday night in Dublin, Andy Farrell’s Ireland scored seven tries as they beat Fiji 43-15 a week out from their meeting with the Boks.
And Jake White believes that his Flying Fijians have helped Ireland to prepare for what is to come next Saturday evening at the Aviva Stadium.
A year on from South Africa visiting Dublin and dismantling the Irish scrum in a 24-13 victory, Farrell’s men will get their chance for revenge. This one feels like a momentous game for both sides.
Rassie Erasmus’ Springboks don’t lose often. Friday night at Stade de France will have hurt them deeply. They have now lost to New Zealand, Australia and France this year. The World Cup next year is what matters, but those results will not sit easily with them.
This is the first time since 2022 that South Africa have lost more than two games in the calendar year.
2022 was also the last time Erasmus’ men lost back-to-back Tests, with Ireland and France beating them on consecutive weekends that November. They will be desperate to avoid a similar fate this time around.
South Africa would likely have brought a feral performance to Dublin anyway, but there will be an inevitable sense that they now arrive in Ireland as a dangerous wounded beast.
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Jamison Gibson-Park after last year's loss to South Africa. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
Whatever about records and recent results, the Springboks are a brilliant rugby team. The way their immense scrum and maul brought them back to the brink of beating France was yet another reminder of how irresistible they can be.
And yet, France have reminded Ireland that the Boks are not unbeatable and that they have flaws. Fabien Galthié’s men cleverly found openings, although it took stunning skill to unlock them at times.
The question is whether Ireland can get to the kind of pitch France did on Friday. Les Bleus’ defence was every bit as impressive as their inspired attack. Even though they got battered at the set-piece in the second half, the French were physically immense.
Ireland have had some brilliant days this year. Their performance in a record win against England at Twickenham was thrilling. Their display to clinch the Triple Crown against Scotland was very impressive. There was much to like about their convincing win against Argentina two weekends ago too.
It’s important not to overthink how good South Africa are, yet everyone knows that beating the Boks will only happen if Ireland find another gear.
The pessimists will justifiably point out that against the best teams in the last year – New Zealand in Chicago, South Africa in Dublin, France in Paris, New Zealand in Auckland – Farrell’s men haven’t been able to locate the gearstick.
Farrell has been talking about ‘new standards’, and this Irish group do appear refreshed, even if their win over Fiji featured some sloppy passages that won’t cut it against the Springboks.
It’s human nature that Ireland weren’t able to apply the same level of focus and ferocity against Fiji that they will expect to bring when they line up opposite the Springboks in a packed-out and presumably engaged Aviva Stadium next Saturday night.
Farrell will have Hugo Keenan, Dan Sheehan, Joe McCarthy and Robbie Henshaw back in his starting side. He will expect the in-form Andrew Porter and Tadhg Furlong to do a far more impactful job this time against the Springboks.
Joe McCarthy in the warm-up before the Fiji game. Tom Maher / INPHO
Tom Maher / INPHO / INPHO
The Ireland boss will hope that Ryan Baird and Tadhg Beirne can lead an assault on the Springboks’ lineout after good form in this area so far this month. He’ll expect Nick Timoney and Josh van der Flier to take their work-rate to the next level.
Jamison Gibson-Park and Sam Prendergast will be asked to provide their most polished showing yet, while the dashing, daring back three of Mack Hansen, Rob Baloucoune, and Keenan will be tasked with providing cutting edge and combativeness.
Farrell will believe he can pick plenty of pop on the Irish bench too.
Of course, the Springboks can list an enviable array of strengths in their starting XV, as well as their bench, with plenty of talent left over outside the match day 23.
So you can forgive Ireland for not dwelling on events against Fiji for too long.
“We review every game, obviously, and take the learnings from that, but the quicker we do that and the quicker we turn the page onto what’s going to be an unbelievably exciting week with the world champions coming to town, it really doesn’t get any better than that,” said Farrell.
“To be able to test yourselves, especially with the type of rugby that they’re playing at this moment in time, it’s a fantastic challenge for us.
“But it’s a game that we would look forward to because there’s a lot of respect that we have there for South Africa and what they’ve done, not just at World Cups but certainly over the last 18 months or so as well.
“So to be able to test ourselves here on a Saturday at 4 o’clock [KO 4.40pm] is gonna be a great afternoon for us, for everyone.”
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Farrell's Ireland go all-in on 'fantastic challenge' of facing the Springboks
ON THE FACE of it, Ireland’s warm-up for facing the Springboks wasn’t all that different from how France teed themselves up to beat South Africa in their epic Test in Paris on Friday night.
The French ran eight tries past Fiji in a 54-17 win the weekend before edging past the best team in the world.
On Saturday night in Dublin, Andy Farrell’s Ireland scored seven tries as they beat Fiji 43-15 a week out from their meeting with the Boks.
And Jake White believes that his Flying Fijians have helped Ireland to prepare for what is to come next Saturday evening at the Aviva Stadium.
A year on from South Africa visiting Dublin and dismantling the Irish scrum in a 24-13 victory, Farrell’s men will get their chance for revenge. This one feels like a momentous game for both sides.
Rassie Erasmus’ Springboks don’t lose often. Friday night at Stade de France will have hurt them deeply. They have now lost to New Zealand, Australia and France this year. The World Cup next year is what matters, but those results will not sit easily with them.
This is the first time since 2022 that South Africa have lost more than two games in the calendar year.
2022 was also the last time Erasmus’ men lost back-to-back Tests, with Ireland and France beating them on consecutive weekends that November. They will be desperate to avoid a similar fate this time around.
South Africa would likely have brought a feral performance to Dublin anyway, but there will be an inevitable sense that they now arrive in Ireland as a dangerous wounded beast.
Whatever about records and recent results, the Springboks are a brilliant rugby team. The way their immense scrum and maul brought them back to the brink of beating France was yet another reminder of how irresistible they can be.
And yet, France have reminded Ireland that the Boks are not unbeatable and that they have flaws. Fabien Galthié’s men cleverly found openings, although it took stunning skill to unlock them at times.
The question is whether Ireland can get to the kind of pitch France did on Friday. Les Bleus’ defence was every bit as impressive as their inspired attack. Even though they got battered at the set-piece in the second half, the French were physically immense.
Ireland have had some brilliant days this year. Their performance in a record win against England at Twickenham was thrilling. Their display to clinch the Triple Crown against Scotland was very impressive. There was much to like about their convincing win against Argentina two weekends ago too.
It’s important not to overthink how good South Africa are, yet everyone knows that beating the Boks will only happen if Ireland find another gear.
The pessimists will justifiably point out that against the best teams in the last year – New Zealand in Chicago, South Africa in Dublin, France in Paris, New Zealand in Auckland – Farrell’s men haven’t been able to locate the gearstick.
Farrell has been talking about ‘new standards’, and this Irish group do appear refreshed, even if their win over Fiji featured some sloppy passages that won’t cut it against the Springboks.
It’s human nature that Ireland weren’t able to apply the same level of focus and ferocity against Fiji that they will expect to bring when they line up opposite the Springboks in a packed-out and presumably engaged Aviva Stadium next Saturday night.
Farrell will have Hugo Keenan, Dan Sheehan, Joe McCarthy and Robbie Henshaw back in his starting side. He will expect the in-form Andrew Porter and Tadhg Furlong to do a far more impactful job this time against the Springboks.
The Ireland boss will hope that Ryan Baird and Tadhg Beirne can lead an assault on the Springboks’ lineout after good form in this area so far this month. He’ll expect Nick Timoney and Josh van der Flier to take their work-rate to the next level.
Jamison Gibson-Park and Sam Prendergast will be asked to provide their most polished showing yet, while the dashing, daring back three of Mack Hansen, Rob Baloucoune, and Keenan will be tasked with providing cutting edge and combativeness.
Farrell will believe he can pick plenty of pop on the Irish bench too.
Of course, the Springboks can list an enviable array of strengths in their starting XV, as well as their bench, with plenty of talent left over outside the match day 23.
So you can forgive Ireland for not dwelling on events against Fiji for too long.
“We review every game, obviously, and take the learnings from that, but the quicker we do that and the quicker we turn the page onto what’s going to be an unbelievably exciting week with the world champions coming to town, it really doesn’t get any better than that,” said Farrell.
“To be able to test yourselves, especially with the type of rugby that they’re playing at this moment in time, it’s a fantastic challenge for us.
“But it’s a game that we would look forward to because there’s a lot of respect that we have there for South Africa and what they’ve done, not just at World Cups but certainly over the last 18 months or so as well.
“So to be able to test ourselves here on a Saturday at 4 o’clock [KO 4.40pm] is gonna be a great afternoon for us, for everyone.”
The big one is finally rolling around.
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Ireland Nations Championship Showdown South Africa the big one