Team Announcement Press Conference: South Africa

Jacques Nienaber, head coach

On if the hype of the game has affected them:

"This is an important game and we all know when we came into this pool, everyone knew this would be a tough pool to get out of. From the first game against Scotland there was massive pressure and then Romania and now Ireland and then there is still Tonga.

"A win for us or for them will put you in a good position to get out of the pool and that is why there is pressure. But that was there when the World Cup started. So it doesn't actually change for us personally because the pressure was set, we said we are playing knock-out rugby from game one. Nothing has changed from game one."

On discipline:

"When two top teams play each other discipline is important, not just keeping 15 players on the field but discipline in general. Penalty counts - if you give a team like Ireland ill discipline they can either convert that into points or get territory and put you under pressure in your own 22 so discipline in general will be important."

On the reactions to the seven-one bench split:

"I think if there is innovation in any sport it gets reaction, positive or negative. This is obviously unique, it is the first time a team has named seven forwards and one back on the bench so that is why I would say it's innovation. That will get reaction. In terms of player safety, I don't get that. I know nothing stops anyone else doing it and it will be a sad day, I think, if you're innovative in the laws of the game and then they would change that.

"It's not against the laws of the game and I don't think it has any bearing on player safety at all."

On if he selects his bench before the starting 15:

"That's a tough one. In our team, because I don't know other teams, our bench isn't necessarily what I would call a bench. Sometimes people get an idea that if you are on the bench you are probably not as good as the guy who starts. But like we have said numerous times, with the team and squad we have here that is not necessarily the case.

"I won't say we start with the bench, we select 23. I know it is probably a cliché but that is genuinely how we do it. They are selected for specific reasons."

Siya Kolisi, captain and back row

On the Ireland game: 

"I think this is as big as it gets. We are playing the number one team in the world in the World Cup, that is what you dream about as a child. They are an amazing side, they have won 14 in a row so it's going to take the best of us to beat them. I am looking forward to it and I can see the excitement all around the world, everybody is keen for this game."

On Jacques Nienaber and Rassie Erasmus:

"The amount of work they put in with their coaching staff is ridiculous. The amount of information we get, if we play Saturday on Sunday we already have stuff ready. I always see them seven o'clock sharp, they are always in meetings.

"The information is exactly what you need to know. It's crazy because when we played Scotland I was playing in a game and I'd watched someone's profile and in that moment I looked at this guy and I knew exactly how he was going to come and tackle me, and those kind of things help a lot.

"Rassie gets us as people, he gets us as human beings, he reminds us exactly what we do and who we are doing it for. To have somebody who has also played at this level and sits there and thinks about rugby, but he also thinks about some of the mistakes he made when he played and he is not scared to share that. Whatever you are going through he is always there."

On Johnny Sexton:

"I think he is a great leader for Ireland. He is also an amazing player and an important player for them. You can see when he is there they are a completely different team. Same for his club. I think he is a very special person for the Irish team and everything he has achieved, going to top points scorer, you can see what it meant.

"For him to be doing it at his age is remarkable. I would love to still be playing at 38, in a World Cup too. He is a huge player, you can see they take huge confidence from him."

On the seven-one split:

"It is a big test, it's also a risk as well, but you must be willing to take those kinds of risks to see whether things work or not."

On Manie Libbok:

"I don't have to manage that [the kicking]. He makes decisions, he says, 'I've got it'. If he misses, he'll still say 'I've got it' and if it isn't working then Faf [de Klerk] goes and kick for posts.

"Everybody thinks I make these big decisions, everybody is leaders in different things. All I have to worry about is talking to the ref and seeing if things are going well. That is my role. The kicking, I have no say in that. I have to respect what Faf thinks, what Manie thinks. No matter what Manie is going through with his kicking, if he tells me 'I've got this' - unless we feel we have got momentum and we want to go for more but I don't even think about what could go wrong.

"We don't want Manie sitting and stressing about [it], he has so many great things. The way he controls us, the first time he came I had a conversation with him. I said, 'Manie, the same as you do at the Stormers, when you speak we will all shut up. I don't care that you don't have any caps, you are the man. When we are playing and you are calling the moves we will keep quiet and we will listen to you'."