AS IRELAND PICKED up momentum over the last 20 months, the thought often struck us that it would be telling to see them take on the Springboks. Today, our wish is answered as the number-one-ranked team in rugby meet the reigning world champions.
Ireland’s fluid, intelligent, incisive attack will meet a new level of defensive challenge. The Irish scrum, which has creaked on occasion, will face an onslaught from the Boks front row and the ‘Bomb Squad’ of strong forwards on their bench. The pressure will come on everywhere – the maul, the aerial battle, and every single contact point.
The Springboks have been far from perfect this year, wobbling against Wales in their summer series and losing twice in the Rugby Championship, but they can get to a physical peak that few can live with. At their best, they are the most accurate team on the planet. Despite criticism to the contrary, they can play a bit too.
So there is much to relish about this evening’s contest at the Aviva Stadium [KO 5.30pm, Virgin Media], particularly given that these two sides will meet in what looks like the crucial game of Pool B of the World Cup next September.
Ireland played thrilling rugby in the second and third Tests in New Zealand last summer, but there has been a fair bit of water under the bridge since. Fullback Hugo Keenan hasn’t played yet this season but starts today. Scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park hasn’t played either but is included on the bench. James Lowe and Robbie Henshaw are out injured, Bundee Aki is suspended. Iain Henderson and Rónan Kelleher, who would have been involved, aren’t fit either.
So head coach Andy Farrell hasn’t had things all his own way, but he has been inviting this kind of challenge. His message has been that this is the kind of stuff that happens at a World Cup, so Ireland need to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Henshaw went down at a late stage this week with a hamstring issue, so up steps Stuart McCloskey for the kind of huge start he has craved.
Many feel the 30-year-old should already have more than six Test caps, but now he gets a chance to show what he can do with a very strong Ireland team around him. He has form on his side and his physicality and offloading ability could be useful today.
It must be reassuring for Farrell to have the same starting pack for this clash as the one that helped Ireland to series success in New Zealand, even if the challenge they will face will be at another level. The Kiwis’ scrum, maul, and breakdown work isn’t where the Boks can go in those areas.
The only comparable contest Farrell’s Ireland have faced was on their trip to Paris in this year’s Six Nations. They lost to France that day but were, of course, without the talismanic Johnny Sexton.
The 37-year-old has been sharp in two starts for Leinster this season and he will again be key if Ireland are to maintain their momentum. Sexton’s kicking game will be particularly important, although he needs others in the backline to share responsibility in that dimension of the game. While there’s no doubt that Springboks head coach Jacques Nienaber will have ideas about how they can shut down the Irish attack, it’s also certain that Sexton has seen opportunities in their defence.
Alongside Sexton in the halfbacks is the man who hits 100 Ireland caps today: Conor Murray. He is not the same player as Gibson-Park but it’s baffling how he continues to receive such scathing criticism in some quarters. He is Irish rugby’s greatest scrum-half of all time and certainly still has lots to offer with his excellent passing, kicking, defence, and poise. Younger players have simply been unable to displace him.
As they look to steer the ship from the number nine and 10 jerseys, Murray and Sexton should also be able to rely on major input from outside centre Garry Ringrose, who has been outstanding for Leinster this season.
Perhaps the most intriguing pick of all in this Irish team is Ulster wing Robert Baloucoune, whose third cap will be by some distance the biggest game of his career. The 25-year-old Enniskillen man has rare athletic ability and could break the game open with one of his slaloming runs. On the other wing, the creative Mack Hansen will look to get as many touches of the ball as possible.
The Boks have plenty of attacking firepower of their own, with Cheslin Kolbe and Kurt-Lee Arendse providing sizzling footwork and pace at fullback and on the right wing, while Makazole Mapimipi is a combative force out on the left.
Lukhanyo Am will be missed in the number 13 shirt, while they’re also without Handré Pollard at out-half. However, Damian Willemse has been one of the Boks’ best players this year, even if he has only shifted to number 10 for their two most recent games. He’s a different player to Pollard with more attacking guile, but he’s a combative presence too.
The clever, calm Jaden Hendrikse’s emergence at scrum-half has also been a big success story for Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber, with Faf de Klerk in a bench role again this evening.
And of course, the Boks still have an almighty pack to call on. Their tight five is bursting with power and size, while Siya Kolisi captains from a punchy, hard-working back row, with six more excellent forwards ready to be sprung from the bench. Ireland must be ready for a relentless assault. The Boks bench looks like an advantage.
The expectation is that this will be a tight one and Ireland must feel that Sexton’s place-kicking could swing things in their favour as the Boks look set to rely on Willemse – who is not yet proven as a frontline kicker at Test level – off the tee.
If Ireland can pick up where they left off, they have the quality to cause the Boks serious problems but if there is any delay in getting back to that pitch, then the South Africans have the qualities to make it a very tough evening in Dublin.
Whatever comes next, we’re going to learn plenty more about Andy Farrell’s Ireland.
Ireland:
- 15. Hugo Keenan
- 14. Robert Baloucoune
- 13. Garry Ringrose
- 12. Stuart McCloskey
- 11. Mack Hansen
- 10. Johnny Sexton
- 9. Conor Murray
- 1. Andrew Porter
- 2. Dan Sheehan
- 3. Tadhg Furlong
- 4. Tadhg Beirne
- 5. James Ryan
- 6. Peter O’Mahony
- 7. Josh van der Flier
- 8. Caelan Doris
Replacements:
- 16. Rob Herring
- 17. Cian Healy
- 18. Finlay Bealham
- 19. Kieran Treadwell
- 20. Jack Conan
- 21. Jamison Gibson Park
- 22. Joey Carbery
- 23. Jimmy O’Brien
South Africa:
- 15. Cheslin Kolbe
- 14. Kurt-Lee Arendse
- 13. Jesse Kriel
- 12. Damian de Allende
- 11. Makazole Mapimpi
- 10. Damian Willemse
- 9. Jaden Hendrikse
- 1. Steven Kitshoff
- 2. Malcolm Marx
- 3. Frans Malherbe
- 4. Eben Etzebeth
- 5. Lood de Jager
- 6. Siya Kolisi (captain)
- 7. Pieter-Steph du Toit
- 8. Jasper Wiese
Replacements:
- 16. Bongi Mbonambi
- 17. Ox Nché
- 18. Vincent Koch
- 19. Franco Mostert
- 20. Deon Fourie
- 21. Kwagga Smith
- 22. Faf de Klerk
- 23. Willie le Roux
Referee: Nika Amashukeli [Georgia].
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