First test: South Africa v Ireland, Loftus Versfeld, 4pm Irish time (Live on Sky Sports)
The prematch hustings have been dismantled, the rhetoric soon to be superseded by 80-minutes of rugby, as South Africa and Ireland must instead live up to the campaign promises. The two-time and reigning world champion Springboks square off against their closest pursuers in the global ranking system before a sell-out 52,000 crowd at the Pretoria venue.
Ireland’s current three-match winning streak over the Springboks has been accomplished in Dublin, twice, and more recently Paris. They have only won one Test on South African soil and never a series. Andy Farrell’s squad travelled without two hugely influential figures in fullback Hugo Keenan and scrumhalf Jamison Gibson Park. They’re facts – the conjecture comes next.
Jamie Osborne, on debut, and Craig Casey have been entrusted with those jerseys. The key for the talented duo is to be the best version of themselves and not try to be a hologram of absent team-mates. Fundamental to accomplishing that goal is the support of those around them.
In practical terms, Osborne must work with wings Calvin Nash and James Lowe to lock down the backfield, reducing the kicking options for South African outhalf Handrè Pollard and fullback Willie le Roux from phase play.
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The Irish pack must enforce an exclusion zone around their scrumhalf, present him with pristine possession to maximise his quicksilver delivery, while Casey needs to appreciate that less haste generates more speed, facilitating nuanced decision-making of which he is capable. This will be vital if the team is to be successful.
Jack Crowley must be afforded the space to implement the playbook, to bring the three-quarter line into play, to mix the point and method of attack between run, pass and kick and to try to enforce a little hesitation in the home side’s aggressive line speed.
Bundee Aki and James Lowe have been pivotal figures when the Irish team is at its fluent best, while Robbie Henshaw’s form has been consistently excellent. Calvin Nash brings power and footwork in contact.
South Africa have a brilliant set piece and will go after Ireland in scrum and lineout and at the breakdown, where Farrell’s side need to be technically proficient but also unflinching in the eye of the physical onslaught. Referee Luke Pearce prefers a fast moving game and tends to be swift with the whistle.
Ireland’s defence needs to be connected and vigilant, whether cutting the legs from beneath Ox Nche, Bongi Mbonambi, Eben Etzebeth and Pieter-Steph du Toit, tracking and harrying Faf de Klerk, to shutting off the supply to the hot-steppers out wide, wings Cheslin Kolbe and Kurt Lee-Arendse.
While it would be ridiculous to suggest that new attack coach Tony Brown could transform that aspect of the Springboks game after just one outing against Wales, his influence was visible in some of the patterns. They’ll have a couple of clever starter plays at the very least.
Ireland captain Peter O’Mahony dismissed any suggestion that his team are tired or despondent after a long season that was ultimately unfulfilling from a provincial perspective. “I think it would be wrong or strange if you didn’t stand up a little bit taller when you walk into this Ireland camp,” he said.
“It’s a great environment, a great place to be and it’s funny, any of the niggles, the sore bits fade away because of what it means to you and because of the group and who you’re being coached by. It’s an unbelievably energised group.
“It’s going to take probably our very best performance of this group’s lifespan to win over here, but we’ve ticked off a lot of big occasions and that’s why you play the game for Test matches and opportunities like this. It’s very exciting.” It’s both an accurate and fair summation.
His Springbok counterpart Siya Kolisi referred to the importance of the venue. “To be able to come home and play for the people and the country who we have been playing for all along is very special,” Kolisi said.
“This is the first time this specific group of players will face Ireland (with some of the newer players in the squad), and we haven’t beaten them since 2016. It’s also the first time we play on home soil, so we are really looking forward to the occasion.”
He identified the breakdown as an area which the Boks had targeted for improvement from the Paris clash.
“In general, we need to be sharp, get to the breakdowns and advantage line quickly, and make good decisions. We also have to be clinical and physical,” he said.
Ireland will be made well aware of where they are playing, the atmosphere loud and hostile but that alone won’t win the match for South Africa.
Can Ireland win? Yes, and that belief and determination is what they’ll bring to Pretoria. Will they? It’ll take an extraordinary performance. Anything less won’t suffice. The odds are against them, eight-point underdogs; it’s probably a fair reflection when weighing up the pertinent considerations.
South Africa: W le Roux (Bulls); C Kolbe (Suntory Sungoliath), J Kriel (Canon Eagles), D de Allende (Wild Knights), K-L Arendse (Bulls); H Pollard (Leicester Tigers), F de Klerk (Canon Eagles); O Nche (Sharks), B Mbonambi (Sharks), F Malherbe (Stormers); E Etzebeth (Sharks), F Mostert (Honda Heat); S Kolisi (Racing 92, capt), P-S du Toit (Toyota Verblitz), K Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs). Replacements: M Marx (Kubota Spears), G Steenekamp (Bulls), V Koch (Sharks), S Moerat (Stormers), RG Snyman (Leinster), M van Staden (Bulls), G Williams (Sharks), S Feinberg-Mngomezulu (Stormers).
Ireland: J Osborne (Leinster); C Nash (Munster), R Henshaw (Leinster), B Aki (Connacht), J Lowe (Leinster); J Crowley (Munster), C Casey (Munster); A Porter (Leinster), D Sheehan (Leinster), T Furlong (Leinster); T Beirne (Munster), J McCarthy (Leinster); P O’Mahony (Munster, capt), J Van der Flier (Leinster), C Doris (Leinster). Replacements: R Kelleher (Leinster), C Healy (Leinster), F Bealham (Connacht), J Ryan (Leinster), R Baird (Leinster), C Murray (Munster), C Frawley (Leinster) G Ringrose (Leinster).
Referee: L Pearce (England)
