The clash between the Springboks and Ireland in Dublin is undoubtedly the pick of this weekend’s rugby Tests, with this blockbuster battle set to kick off at 19:40 (SA time) on Saturday.
There are plenty of other big matches to look forward to, though, with Wales hosting New Zealand and France facing Australia, while in two Sunday games, Scotland tackle Tonga, and England take on Argentina.
HERE ARE THE KICK OFF TIMES FOR THE SEVEN STANDOUT TESTS THIS WEEKEND
| Saturday | Georgia v Japan | 14:00 kick off time (SA time) |
| Saturday | Wales vs New Zealand | 17:10 |
| Saturday | Ireland vs South Africa | 19:40 |
| Saturday | France vs Australia | 22:10 |
| Saturday | Italy vs Chile | 22:10 |
| Sunday | Scotland vs Tonga | 15:40 |
| Sunday | England vs Argentina | 18:10 |
All eyes on South Africa against Ireland
As the Springboks prepare for one of their most high profile Tests of the year against Ireland, star scrumhalf Grant Williams said there was great excitement building within the team.
“We focus on each game the same way regardless of who we play – we approach each week on its own,” said the speedy scrumhalf, who is set to line up against Ireland’s Jamison Gibson-Park this weekend, someone Williams spoke of highly as a player and what he brings to the team.
“He’s up there with the best scrumhalves in the world at the moment, and his influence on the game is fantastic. If I get selected to play this weekend, it will be a good battle.”
Meanwhile, Eben Etzebeth spoke about the influence of the Irish-based players RG Snyman and Jean Kleyn, and Bok assistant coaches Felix Jones and Jerry Flannery – both of whom played Test rugby for Ireland.
“We have quite a few foreigners in our management group, but we don’t see them as such – we see them as part of the Springboks, and we get along very well with all of them,” said Etzebeth.
“And obviously, guys like RG and Jean have more insight into the Irish, but it’s professional rugby, and Ireland will be smart and probably change a few things.”
