The Springboks are heading into a grudge battle against Ireland in Dublin this Saturday, having come off a hard-fought victory against Italy last weekend.
There is no doubt that the Springboks will be fully aware of the hostile crowd that will lie in wait at the Aviva Stadium, and there has already been plenty of verbal warfare – mainly in the media – before Saturday’s clash.
In the latest example, former Ireland centre Gordon D’Arcy strangely took aim at Damian Willemse for his seemingly harmless comments following the clash against Italy.
“Damian Willemse tried to suggest after the Italy win that the Springboks felt disrespected by people calling it a weakened team,” D’Arcy wrote in his Irish Times column. “The rhetoric felt a little Donald Trump-ish, trying to control the narrative. Maybe he was dipping into the Michael Jordan playbook, searching for a slight where none existed.
“Even with all of South Africa’s success, Ireland still occupy a little bit of headspace in the Springbok psyche. They want this win, badly,” he added. “The rotated team in Italy and the run of results here have left a mark, and Erasmus will lean into that emotional energy.”
Springboks need to keep their focus on Ireland
In another interview this week, former Ireland loose forward Alan Quinlan was more complimentary of the Springboks, but also pointed out that they could be ‘beatable’.
“I think deep down South Africa respect Ireland, but they see Ireland as a big scalp. They see someone who has annoyed them in the last couple of years, in the sense that they can’t shake them off,” he told told CasinoHawks.
“You just cannot play if you don’t have a set-piece. That’s where it starts against South Africa. But if Ireland get their scrum, lineout and breakdown right, of course they can cause South Africa problems.”
One of the biggest battles of the year
When all is said and done, there is no doubt that this weekend’s clash is shaping up to be one of the most compelling Tests of the year.
The match kicks off at 19:40 (SA time) and will be broadcast live on SuperSport. Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus will announce his matchday team on Thursday.
