Rugby

View from South Africa: Boks eye bragging rights in opening Test against Ireland

World Cup champions concede ‘we will have to be on par’ as ‘two-test series promises to be massive’

Tempers flare during South Africa vs Ireland at the Rugby World Cup. Photograph: Steve Haag/Inpho

Albert Heenop
Fri Jun 28 2024 - 12:00

The knives are out in advance of the two-test series between South Africa and Ireland that kicks off next Saturday at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria. And according to Percy Montgomery, the most-capped Springbok fullback of all time, this indicates that we are in for a cracker of a series.

The opening salvo as long ago as two months back, with Bok bruiser Eben Etzebeth suggesting that Ireland’s players were arrogant in the aftermath of their 13-8 win against the eventual champions, South Africa, during the pool stage of last year’s Rugby World Cup.

Just recently, Ireland and Munster fullback Simon Zebo claimed that Bok coach Rassie Erasmus “hates the Irish”, a comment which Erasmus has subsequently brushed aside as being made in jest.

“Rugby banter is always good,” says Montgomery, who was on the winning side against Ireland on five out of six occasions in his 102 tests for South Africa from 1997 to 2008. “It ensures that the boys are up for the game. Back in my day, Keith Wood used to be quite a menace and gave us a lot of flak. I’ll never forget our captain’s run at Lansdowne Road in 1998; we hadn’t finished yet when Woody and the rest of the Irish crew came trotting on to the field to start their session.

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“Ireland are niggly, they are irritating, but they also boast excellent rugby players. They are extremely passionate, just like the Welsh, and they know their rugby. The banter is all part of the psychological warfare. It’s good, as long as it doesn’t become personal.

“As South Africans, we wouldn’t expect anything less from Ireland. They must come at us as hard as they can.”

[ Siya Kolisi will captain Springboks against Ireland, says Rassie Erasmus ]

The Irish have indeed come hard at South Africa over the past few years, with the Boks having lost their last three tests against Ireland — including a 38-3 hammering in 2017. The last time South Africa were able to see off the Irish was during the previous series in 2016 when the Boks took the rubber 2-1.

Thus, even though Siya Kolisi and co were crowned back-to-back World Cup champions in France last year, another series defeat at the hands of Andy Farrell’s team may take some of the gloss off their winners’ medals.

“Being World Cup champions does add pressure, as everyone wants to beat the champs,” Montgomery agrees. “It won’t be easy for the Boks. The Irish are technically correct in all departments; they have upped their game, especially around the rucks and in midfield.

“We will have to be on par. All in all, the two-test series promises to be massive.”

[ Garry Ringrose: ‘If you get it wrong against South Africa, you suffer the consequences’ ]

Former Ireland scrumhalf John Robbie, who toured with the British and Irish Lions in 1980 and has been resident in South Africa for the past 42 years, sees the funny side of all the preliminary fuss.

“That’s why I love boxing,” laughs Robbie, who also turned out for the Boks on an unofficial internal tour in 1985. “There’s so much nonsense in the build-up to a fight, but once the bell goes it’s just man against man in the ring. It’s the same with rugby. People appear on interview panels, they say things and Eben was probably starting to play some mind games.

“Some people do feel that Ireland, as well as Leinster, might be a bit arrogant. Back when I played, if we won the toss we’d do a lap of honour, that’s how bad we were. Robbie was on the losing side in but one of his 10 tests for Ireland from 1976 to 1981.

“Last year, though, Ireland had held the number one spot on World Rugby’s rankings for more than a year, yet they were eliminated by New Zealand in the World Cup quarters — as was the case in 2019. Leinster, too, have attained a reputation for losing when it comes to the crunch.

“Rugby these days, since the advent of the World Cup, works in four-year cycles, and we’re only at the beginning of the next cycle now. Essentially, this Bok-Ireland series is just part of the build-up to the next World Cup in 2027. At the same time, every test should be judged on its own merits.

“Ireland have done exceptionally well the past few years, except for the World Cup. And they have had the Boks’ number since 2016. To be fair, the 38-3 result in 2017 was ridiculous. The Bok coach at the time, Allister Coetzee, was under huge pressure and, as a group, the confidence was low. Individually, quite a number of the Boks involved in that catastrophe may have a point to prove. Not too many of the current crop of players have tasted victory against the Irish.

“From that perspective, there might just be a bit of a ‘world championship’ involved when the teams square up in Pretoria and Durban. It does add plenty of spice. Last weekend’s test against Wales at Twickenham was just a friendly for South Africa; the series against Ireland will be more, much more than that.”

[ South Africa recall group of World Cup winners for Ireland series ]

Although it was a mission accomplished for Erasmus’s charges in London, as they managed to transform a narrow 14-13 half-time lead into a comprehensive 41-13 walloping of Wales, the Boks will be desperate to deliver the goods against the Irish at home.

“It wasn’t a perfect performance,” said Erasmus following the Wales test. “We committed errors and certain things didn’t click, yet there were plenty of positives. There was certainly no lack of effort and intensity. We have new coaches on board and had a few players making their debuts, so certain areas of the game were not as smooth as we would have liked. That is what we need to work on going forward, especially against Ireland.”

Albert Heenop is a writer and rugby analyst for Rapport in South Africa

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