The confetti has all been cleared away, and the Guinness kegs have been empty. Following Ireland’s second straight Six Nations victory, all eyes will be on a heavyweight match that will definitively establish whether side—Andy Farrell’s Irish or the twice world champion Springboks—is the best in the world.
Neither party appears to be particularly interested in the label just yet. Even though a number of well-known commentators, like Finn Russell, Steve Borthwick, Sam Warburton, and others, have praised Ireland as the best team in the game, Farrell has moved the focus south to the Springboks. Rassie Erasmus, for his part, dismissed the discussion during a recent press conference.
Alright. We will get into it if they won’t. So let’s poke around inside and stare into a crystal ball. In four months, a lot may happen, and if any of the predictions below turn out to be even slightly inaccurate, these words will undoubtedly blow up in my face. That being said, here’s why South Africa will win the series two games to none and break their eight-year losing run against Ireland.
Let us begin by placing our feet in the past. Uncertainty pervaded the air when Ireland arrived in South Africa in June 2016. These were two groups getting established rather than the titanic repetitions of today. With just two victories, Joe Schmidt’s tourists, who had Farrell as their defensive coach, had struggled through that year’s Six Nations competition, coming in third. Additionally, a disastrous World Cup quarterfinal exit highlighted the previous year.
South Africa was still developing. Allister Coetzee’s first job as head coach was this. Out of a 31-man roster, 17 players would go on to win the World Cup in 2019, even though 20 of them had fewer than 15 Test caps.
Ireland defeated the Springboks in their first-ever encounter in South Africa, 20–26, despite a chaotic opening game in Cape Town. But all it did was rouse the bear. Along with winning the series, the Boks also won the next two Tests. Although they weren’t hugely successful performances, there seemed to be a return of some kind of cosmic equilibrium at the moment.
This is the vibe of all the best teams. The All Blacks led by Richie McCaw and the English of 2003 shared a same indomitable spirit. Ireland has demonstrated that they are still working toward that. They gave hints of it by winning a series in New Zealand and then a grand slam in the Six Nations the following year, but they were unable to rise when pressured by expectations, as evidenced by another World Cup quarterfinal defeat. This viewpoint is strengthened by their defeat to England this month.
This implies that even if they’ve been given a reality check, they’ll still be feeling positive about themselves when they get to South Africa. On the other hand, pressure marches in tandem with hype. Only one of our main characters seems to be able to handle it.
Of course, the Springboks should feel confident for more pragmatic rugby-related reasons. Elite sports are influenced by home crowds, and the South African public will be clamoring for what they see as retaliation for Ireland’s arrogance. They have already appropriated and twisted Ireland’s unofficial fan song to prove their loyalty to Erasmus. They will now create a threatening atmosphere for their guests, especially at Loftus, which is, at best, as hospitable as a Roman abattoir, since they have purchased every ticket available in Pretoria and Durban.
And then there’s the elevation. Not a factor in Durban’s coastal area, but it will be in Pretoria. Since this is a (criminally) two-Test series, the outcome of the first match could be crucial, requiring the loser to try to win the second. It’s not hard to imagine worn-out Irish forwards running out of gas in the latter minutes if South Africa can field a second pack. They risk being completely overwhelmed if they don’t have the lead by the 65th minute.
In reference to second packs, Ireland played three of their five Six Nations games with a six-two bench split. It was successful against France and Italy (who followed the same course of action), but it failed against England. This was hailed as a triumph for rugby’s spirit against the looming threat of heavy, ponderous men suffocating it. This is just too easy. The emphasis should instead be on Ireland’s backs’ lack of adaptability when forced to switch positions and several important attackers’ lack of an all-around game.
South Africa is not having any issues with this.Similar to Frans Steyn before him, Damian Willemse is capable of playing all six back positions.Canan Moodie is able to function in five different roles.Compared to most Test wingers, Grant Williams is quicker.Pieter-Steph du Toit and Franco Mostert were both capable of playing from the second or back row. Furthermore, it appears that South Africa’s preference for the six-two is a strategy tailored to their advantages rather than an attempt to cram in an aging captain. The extra forward on Ireland’s bench seemed to offer a counterbalance to the legendary Peter O’Mahony’s diminishing abilities.
England demonstrated that they could defeat the Irish by packing bodies into their well-oiled machine and preventing them from moving forward. South Africa is the side that disrupts the opposition the most. They are still the best in rush defense, and in July, they will unleash all of their strength and skill, unlike in their World Cup match against Ireland, when they obstinately refused to go to the line-out as though they were holding something.
since South Africa is interested in this series. The All Blacks cast a shadow over the Springboks for over ten years. They have now established a dynasty with two World Cups and a British & Irish Lions series. or forgery, if I may? They’re still not done. They would demonstrate their superiority if they were to defeat an incredibly talented Irish squad. And when it comes to rugby, nothing is more dangerous than a Springboks team on a mission.
GET MORE NEWS HERE
Leave a Reply