Boks' tall timber key to series victory
The two countries go head-to-head at Newlands on Saturday, followed by encounters at Ellis Park and the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on successive weekends.
With the likes of Eben Etzebeth, Lodewyk de Jager, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Franco Mostert at their disposal, the Springboks could use the line-out as an effective weapon going forward.
"All the locks have been brilliant at contesting at franchise level," said Van Graan
"Also, a guy like Siya Kolisi has improved tremendously at franchise level in terms of jumping.
"We all know what Duane [Vermeulen] and Flo [Francois Louw] can do.
"It also helps that there is a bit of continuity from the previous era in terms of our systems.
"We are going to try and contest on our terms on Saturday and hopefully take the Irish out of their structure."
Van Graan said he could feel the intensity in the camp lift this week when they moved their preparations from Stellenbosch to Cape Town ahead of the first Test.
"You could feel the excitement and intensity on Sunday evening. We did a lot of training last week – now it's about winning a Test match.
"Test matches are always special, especially against Ireland – a team we have a lot of respect for," the forwards coach added.
The last time the two teams met, Ireland won 29-15 in Dublin in 2014.
On that occasion the Irish outsmarted the Boks, but Van Gaan says they are not looking for revenge for that particular match.
"Every Test match is a new beginning. We obviously learnt a lot about that Test match [in Dublin].
"We have so much respect for the Irish coaching staff and they will definitely bring something new.
"Allister [Coetzee] and the rest of the coaching staff always looked at this Test series as a [new] start and we will do some new things, but it is not going to be about revenge.
"There is a lot of respect for them and we can't wait for Saturday," said Van Graan.
By Warren Fortune
@FortuneWarren
@rugby365com
