South Africa v Ireland - Teams and Prediction

THE SECOND TEST: Springbok head coach Rassie Erasmus expects Ireland’s fighting spirit to be on full display in Saturday’s clash in Durban.

South Africa will head into that encounter leading the two-Test series 1-0 after they recorded a 27-20 victory in the first Test at Loftus Versfeld last weekend.

However, the Irish are known for bouncing back immediately after a defeat and their tour to New Zealand in 2022 is a great example of this.

Andy Farrell’s side suffered a 19-42 defeat to the All Blacks in Auckland two years ago before they won the next two Tests in Dunedin and Wellington to secure a historic series victory.

Heading into Saturday’s match, Erasmus believes it will be even more difficult for his team at Kings Park and he reminded media of Ireland’s heroics against the All Blacks.

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“I don’t know if they will change their plan as they only lost by seven points against us last weekend,” said Erasmus.

“They finished strongly when everybody thought they would be caught out by the altitude [in Pretoria], so they obviously handled it well.

“They stretched us quite a bit on defence and we had to scramble.

“We scored some opportunistic tries, but we also failed to capitalise on other try-scoring opportunities, so it’s not like they are far behind.

“It was a very tight game at the end. We were all very nervous.

“They are so settled, and they’ve been together for so long and they have been consistent.

“They’ve always been in the top three in the world for the last few years.

“They were in this position before. They went to New Zealand and beat the All blacks and then went on to win the next two Six Nations championships, so they know how to come back.”

Erasmus added: “We know that every single time when we go up against them, it is going to be a very tight match.

“If we do manage to make it through and win 2-0, it wouldn’t just be satisfaction for me. It would be nice for South Africa and the team and our morale.

“They have our number currently. In the last four Test matches, they are 3-1 up, so it would be nice to win.”

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Meanwhile, Ireland head coach Farrell admitted that he was disappointed with his side’s overall performance at Loftus and he is expecting a big reaction from his players in Durban.

“I have no doubt that it [the first Test] was a great game to watch and exciting, but it was a bit chaotic at times.

“There was a lot going on in terms of decisions or lack of them and all the talk has been about that as well.

“That was a proper Test match and I get all that, but when we strip it back from our side, we were disappointed.

“Our first half performance wasn’t us. it wasn’t us doing things properly and it might not seem like that to everyone, but to us it was.

“We need to improve and we need to commit and be better.

“I have no doubt that South Africa will be twice as good this weekend and that’s why we need to move pretty quickly this week in terms of the honesty of where we are at and what we need to do going forward.

The big lock hinted that his team might have a few tricks ….🤔

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— rugby365.com (@rugby365com) July 11, 2024

Players to watch

For South Africa: Outside centre Jesse Kriel was the standout in the backline in the first Test with his powerful carries and big hits on defence. Handre Pollard has embraced Tony Brown’s attacking philosophy and it will be interesting to see if that approach will be used again or if the Boks will be more conservative in the decider. Captain Siya Kolisi and Pieter-Steph du Toit made their presence felt in the wider channels on attack and it seemed to be effective. Du Toit certainly used his big frame to draw defenders before producing some neat offloads to the outside backs. The Springboks will also be looking to get more dominance in the scrums from the start and Frans Malherbe, Bongi Mbonambi and Ox Nche will be itching to set the record straight.

For Ireland: Conor Murray comes in for Craig Casey (concussion) and he brings plenty of experience to the party. He might not be the fastest scrumhalf in the world, but his decision-making in big games could be vital. Centre Garry Ringrose gets promoted to the starting XV after Bundee Aki’s injury and he will bring some guile and speed to the midfield. In the pack, Tadhg Beirne shifts from lock to the back row and will bring some grunt to combat the big Bok loosies. Meanwhile, the starting front row of Tadhg Furlong, Rónan Kelleher and Andrew Porter will look to embrace the dark arts to try and get the upper hand at scrum time.

Prediction

@rugby365com: South Africa by nine points.

Teams:

South Africa: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Handré Pollard 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Kwagga Smith, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche.
Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Salmaan Moerat, 20 RG Snyman, 21 Marco van Staden, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.

Ireland: 15 Jamie Osborne, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 James Lowe, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Caelan Doris (captain), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Tadhg Beirne, 5 James Ryan, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Rónan Kelleher, 1 Andrew Porter.
Replacements: 16 Rob Herring, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 Ryan Baird, 20 Peter O’Mahony, 21 Caolin Blade. 22 Ciaran Frawley, 23 Stuart McCloskey.

Date: Saturday, July 13
Venue: Kings Park, Durban
Kick-off: 17.00 (16.00 UK time; 15.00 GMT)
Expected weather: It will be sunny and warm with a high of 25°C before cooling down to 13°C towards the evening.
Referee: Karl Dickson (England)
Assistant referees: Luke Pearce (England), Craig Evans (Wales)
TMO: Ian Tempest (England)