Experienced Boks look to settle score against Ireland 5 years on

The walls of the Aviva Stadium are set to rattle on Saturday evening as the World Champion Springboks cross swords an Irish outfit which has been making waves in the rugby world of late.

Earlier this year, Andy Farrell’s men showed true grit to depart the shores of New Zealand with Ireland’s first away-series defeat of the All Blacks in the pocket. The rugby on display when Ireland have ball in hand has been chiselled and polished into a thing of beauty while their attitude on defence is indicative of a team hungry for greatness.

Amid the voice of their home crowd, Johnny Sexton and co. are expected to hit the ground running and make life decidedly difficult for a Springbok team at the first hurdle of what is going to be a gruelling November.

The respect that the Boks have towards their opponents this weekend can be identified in the match-day squad chosen by Jacques Nienaber; the team he has put together is arguably the strongest one he has selected all year.

Damian Willemse will don the No 10 jersey in a halfback pairing with Jaden Hendrikse (scrumhalf), while Nienaber opted for Jasper Wiese at No 8 in a loose trio with Pieter Steph-du Toit and Siya Kolisi, given the physical challenge expected from the Irish forwards.

The front row features props Steven Kitshoff and Frans Malherbe and hooker Malcolm Marx, with Eben Etzebeth and Lood de Jager in the engine room, while the bench features a split of six forwards and two backs.

Bongi Mbonambi (hooker), Ox Nche and Vincent Koch (both props) will be joined by utility forwards Franco Mostert, Kwagga Smith and Deon Fourie as the forward replacements, while Faf de Klerk (scrumhalf) and Willie le Roux (fullback) will be the two backs on the bench.

On the injury front, Nienaber said Sbu Nkosi (wing) and Marco van Staden (flanker), who suffered rib injuries in the Vodacom Bulls’ clash against the Cell C Sharks in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship on Sunday, would not join the squad and will not be replaced at this stage as there is sufficient cover in the touring group.

Perhaps most significant is the decision to deploy the fleet-footed Cheslin Kolbe in the fullback role – a position the 29 year-old has yet to experience at Test level, although he has done great work from the back for Western Province and the Stormers in the past:

Earlier in the week, Nienaber shared his thoughts on the selections:

“We selected a team we believe contains the best combinations to counter the threats posed by Ireland,” he said.

“Damian (Willemse) has done well for us at flyhalf, and he is continuing to grow as a player in that role, while we think Cheslin has the potential to add a new dimension to our game at fullback.

“He was sidelined for a while after breaking his jaw against Wales, but he has played four 80-minute matches for Toulon since returning to play, and we are confident that he will step up to the challenge.”

It appears that there also exists a possibility that Kolbe could slot in at number 10, if needed.

“Cheslin has delivered star performances for his clubs in France at flyhalf, so he will slot in as a back-up flyhalf if necessary, while Faf is another option for us at No 10 as well,” Nienaber continued.

“Damian Willemse can also move to inside centre if we need cover there, while Damian de Allende can play outside centre and Willie fullback, and this allowed us for us to opt for a six-two split on the bench.”

The last time these teams met was an occasion the Boks will be only too eager to redeem while Ireland will still be revelling in the memory:

Conor Murray is set to earn his 100th cap for Ireland and is one of just five players in the starting team that started the last game between the two sides in 2017. 

Tadhg Furlong, Robbie Henshaw, Peter O’Mahony and Johnny Sexton were the other players to start against the Springbok five years ago.

Cian Healy, who is named on the bench for Saturday’s game, also started the 2017 game while Rob Herring, James Ryan and Joey Carbery were among the replacements that day.

Tadhg Beirne and Jack Conan have never played for Ireland against South Africa but featured against the Springboks for the British and Irish Lions in the 2021 Test Series. Furlong, Henshaw and Murray also played in that Test Series.

Finlay Bealham has experience of playing the Boks as he was a replacement in the second Test against South Africa in Johannesburg on the 2016 Tour.

Whereas Robert Baloucoune, Caelan Doris, Jamison Gibson Park, Mack Hansen, Hugo Keenan, Stuart McCloskey, Andrew Porter, Garry Ringrose, Dan Sheehan, Kieran Treadwell and Josh van der Flier have never faced South Africa at senior level.

Baloucoune missed the Summer Tour of New Zealand through injury but started against both the Griquas and the Cheetahs for Emerging Ireland last month. Ireland captain Sexton will make his 109th appearance for Ireland this Saturday, becoming the country’s fifth most capped player of all time pushing current Forwards Coach Paul O’Connell into sixth position.

Conor Murray had the following to say ahead of the big occasion:

“It will be a very proud day for me, for my family more importantly with the commitment they’ve shown to be at pretty much all the games.

“I couldn’t think of a better group of players to reach that milestone with, given how competitive we are, what we’ve done in the last year.

“It’s incredible, it’s probably the first full year I’ve spent not starting and, oddly enough, it’s been the most enjoyable year or two. It is a hugely proud moment (to reach 100 caps) and it’s a privilege, a cool list to be on.”