South Africa v Ireland: Teams and prediction

PREVIEW: The South Africa Women will make history when they host Ireland at Athlone Stadium on Saturday, 20 years after the two teams first met.

The fixture is the first of two WXV Global Series Tests in Cape Town, with both sides looking to build momentum ahead of the second encounter.

The last time the teams went head-to-head was at the 2006 World Cup, where Ireland recorded a convincing 37-0 victory.

However, much has changed since then.

Ireland have continued to build on their legacy, introducing centralised contracts for their women’s team as the programme has developed.

For South Africa, the journey has been far from straightforward. Following disappointing performances at the World Cup, SA Rugby did not enter a team at the last showpiece tournament in 2017 with the Springboks not playing a competitive game between August 2014 and November 2018.

At one point during this barren spell it looked as if the entire ecosystem of women’s rugby in the country would collapse.

However, the Springbok Women have since rebuilt and made significant progress, securing impressive victories against the likes of the USA and Italy while pushing the Black Ferns.

They also reached the World Cup quarterfinals for the first time at the 2025 edition.

South Africa are currently ranked 10th in the world, and a victory over Ireland would provide another significant boost for the next generation of Springbok Women players.

“This match speaks of evolution of the game, evolution of Springbok women’s rugby,” Springbok co-head coach Laurian Johannes-Haupt told reporters at the Cullinan in Cape Town.

“If you see a picture of the 2006 group, you see them wearing jerseys that’s way too big for them. That’s just one of the snippets of where it was to where we now have press conferences, for example.

“This game has changed so much, the growth has been phenomenal, and just to witness the journey of everybody coming through the ranks, leaving the jersey in a better position, the next one taking the jersey over and making it better.”

Johannes-Haupt added that the opportunity to face Ireland was particularly special as South Africa continued to build towards the 2029 World Cup.

“We are preparing for 2029, but how blessed are we that we can experience this right now.

“Playing this top-ranked team is even more special. It has been 20 years of hard work, sacrifices from everybody that’s been involved in the women’s space. It’s just extremely proud, it’s a proud moment.”

Springbok Women target strong start

South Africa bounced back from a disappointing opening defeat in their WXV Global Series campaign, producing two strong all-round performances to beat Italy and Spain.

Ireland also opened their campaign with a defeat to the USA before responding with a victory over Japan in Galway.

Saturday’s encounter will therefore feature two teams with a point to prove.

Johannes-Haupt expects a well-rounded challenge from the Irish but believes South Africa can make their mark through their set piece.

“Ireland is definitely a very structured team. You can see they’re really well coached,” she said.

“There’s not really a deficit where you can say it’s either going to be a forward- or back-dominant game from our perspective.

“It will be more a well-rounded game from an Ireland perspective. And then from us, we just definitely want to dominate in our areas where we’re really good at. And that’s our set piece.

“Lay the foundation, because we have great, exciting attacking backs to get us over the line.”

Ireland captain relishes historic occasion

For Ireland captain Erin King, the trip to Cape Town represents an opportunity to be part of a historic occasion.

Just three days after celebrating her 23rd birthday, the flanker will lead Scott Bemand’s side out against South Africa for the first time.

“We’ve definitely spoken about the history of getting to play in Cape Town and getting to play in South Africa,” King told BBC.

“Rugby is everything for them. They eat and breathe rugby, and there’s so much history there.

“We’d love to come over, win the two Tests and create a bit of history.”

Prediction: 

Rugby365:  South Africa by 10 points.

Teams: 

South Africa: 15 Jakkie Cilliers, 14 Alichia Arries, 13 Maceala Samboya, 12 Shiniqwa Lamprecht, 11 Maria Tshiremba, 10 Byrhandre Dolf, 9 Unam Tose, 8 Aseza Hele, 7 Lerato Makua, 6 Sizophila Solontsi, 5 Catha Jacobs; 4 Vainah Ubisi, 3 Xoliswa Khuzwayo, 2 Anushka Groenewald, 1 Sanelisiwe Charlie
Replacements: 16 Lindelwa Gwala, 17 Yonela Ngxingolo, 18 Thandile Mazwi, 19 Danelle Lochner, 20 Logan Welman, 21 Aphiwe Ngwevu, 22 Anacadia Minnaar, 23 Mary Zulu.

Ireland: 15 Stacey Flood, 14 Béibhinn Parsons, 13 Anna McGann, 12 Aoife Dalton, 11 Robyn O’Connor, 10 Dannah O’Brien, 9 Emily Lane, 8 Brittany Hogan, 7 Erin King (captain), 6 Fiona Tuite-O’Sullivan, 5 Dorothy Wall, 4 Jane Clohessy, 3 Eilís Cahill, 2 Neve Jones, 1 Linda Djougang
Replacements: 16 Beth Buttimer, 17 Niamh O’Dowd, 18 Sadhbh McGrath, 19 Kate Jordan, 20 Grace Moore, 21 Jemima Adams Verling, 22 Aoibheann Reilly, 23 Eve Higgins.

Date: Saturday, October 24
Venue: Athlone Stadium, Cape Town
Kick-off: 15.00 (13.00 GMT; 13.00 UK time)
Referee: Jess Ling (RA)
Assistant Referees: Precious Pazani (ZRU) & Giana Viljoen (SARU)
TMO: Matteo Liperini (FIR)