THE SPRINGBOKS HAVE been chipping away at Ireland in recent months but Andy Farrellโs men have no interest in returning fire.
Eben Etzebeth, Damian de Allende, and Cheslin Kolbe have all decided to publicly raise the stakes ahead of next monthโs two-Test series, giving an insight into South Africaโs ferocious desire to take Ireland down.
Ireland have won the last three games between these sides, including a pool-stage victory at last yearโs World Cup, meaning the Boks feel they have a score to settle.
Whatever about the words coming from the South African camp, Ireland wonโt be veering from their usual path as they look to do their talking on the pitch.
โFor us, itโs not a problem,โ said Ireland assistant coach Mike Catt today as they get set to travel to South Africa on Wednesday.
โPeople can say what they want, it means nothing to us. Itโs something we donโt particularly worry about.
โLet them keep talking, itโs not a problem. It doesnโt fuel anything, it doesnโt make it any better or worse. We know exactly what we need to do to go down there and be successful.โ
That said, the spicy statements from the Springboks add to Irelandโs excitement about this trip.
There is a worry outside Ireland camp about the Irish players finding the energy to take on the Boks after a long season, but Catt said thatโs not reflected on the inside.
They want to be the first Irish team to win a series in South Africa.
โItโs never been done before,โ said Catt. โWe havenโt spoken about it, whether it gets spoken about today it might be the case, but we went down to New Zealand [in 2022] to challenge ourselves to do something that had never been done before.
โI think thatโs going to be the same situation, us going to South Africa against the world champions.
โThe hype is big, itโs massive. Itโs massively exciting. Itโs a huge challenge, we understand itโs a huge challenge, but weโre going to embrace it and go with it.
โI think every time you pull on a green jersey is massively important. Youโre inspiring the nation. Andy and the team have done exceptionally well in doing that and itโs making sure we maintain that and keep that level very high so we can inspire young kids to come into the game, and the rest of the nation to support us.โ
The new-found rivalry between Irish and South African rugby makes this series all the more anticipated.
Having the South African clubs in the URC has helped heat things up since 2021 but the real key has been Ireland and the Springboks actually playing each other. Farrellโs side won in Dublin in 2022 after a five-year gap in fixtures, then again in Paris last year.
โThe rivalryโs been good, thatโs what you want at Test level, itโs why you play the game,โ said Catt. โWeโve been pretty successful over the past three times weโve played them, theyโre chomping at the bit.
โThereโs been a lot said in the press and this and that, itโs getting rid of all the white noise, whatโs important for us is to put in a hell of a performance, and go and challenge to win a series down in South Africa.
โItโs healthy, you want that rivalry. You want that โ not hatred โ but whatever it is that stirs it all up. Itโs good.โ
Catt confirmed that while some players hadnโt taken part in all training since Ireland gathered last Thursday, they expect all of their 35-man squad to be fit for selection ahead of the first Test on Saturday 6 July in Pretoria.
Cork opt for a โ James gandolfini โ lookalike to scare the shit out of the rest of us !
Being from Cork though he probably has a bigger chip on his shoulder than Tony Sopranoโฆโฆ
(if you red thumb this comment God will kill a kitten) :-)