two Springbok rugby players prepare for a passage of play Frans Malherbe of South Africa and Pieter-Steph du Toit of South Africa during the Rugby Championship match against Argentina held at Kings Park in Durban on 24 September 2022. Picture: Gerhard Duraan/BackpagePix
Johannesburg - The Springboks – the world champion's – face Ireland – mathematically the best team in the world – on Saturday.
The Boks will look to avenge their humiliating 2017 loss, and also set down a maker for France 2023 for when the two teams are set to meet during the pool stages of the World Cup.
Here, Morgan Bolton looks at five features of the clash you can expect, and which he would like to see.
Jersey-chore
For some inexplicable reason, the Irish will be playing in a hooped navy blue jersey as their alternative kit
It is just ever so slightly different enough up-close to differentiate with the bottle green and gold of the Boks. On TV though, it will probably all look the same. A colour clash is on the cards … again.
Why the Irish – who, as rugby tradition dictates, must wear the alternative kit for this particular clash – insists on wearing a jersey that will clash – as it did in 2017 – is a mystery. Why not play in their very fashionable and smart white jumper, or any other colour for that matter?
Ridiculous.
Sidestepping, rootin’ tootin’ Kolbe
Cheslin Kolbe is back and, oh boy, we can't wait to see him in action in the Bok jersey again.
The last time he played a Test was in June, and the Boks have missed his industrious movement on attack. This time around, he will do so in the unfamiliar No 15 jersey. The 29-year-old will have a much bigger say with-ball-in-hand, as he will be expected to join the line as first and second receiver.
He could play a huge role in cracking open a stubborn Irish defence with his bewitching sidestep in the midfield, or spark some brilliance on the counter from the deep.
Perhaps his most important role in the Test will be to keep a back-three composed under the pressure of a pin-point accurate Ireland kicking game.
And Jesse was his name, oh
With Lukhanyo Am out long-term due to a knee injury, Bok mentor Jacques Nienaber has had no choice but play Jesse Kriel.
Much like flyhalf, the stocks at outside-centre are thin. There might be relief on the horizon as new and exciting players step up in the United Rugby Championship, but it remains one of the areas where the national set-up is critically understaffed.
Kriel has been largely persona non-grata in recent matches when he has played, and while he is defensively stout, he has done little with ball-in-hand to make his selection notable. Hopefully, he has found some form in the last few weeks, and a bit more confidence.
He will never be at the level of Am when it comes to making plays, but he can be a devastatingly powerful runner, and that is the Kriel we want to see – one that works his flesh and blood into the pitch on attack and defence.
PSDT inflicting some PTSD
The same can be said of Pieter-Steph du Toit.
The 2019 World Rugby Player of the Year hasn’t completely been himself since returning from injury, but with a little bit more gametime and tutelage in the Bok set-up, we could see him return to his best during this tour.
There were certainly flashes of his brilliance in the Rugby Championship, so what the Boks will want is a more unwavering, unbent, undefeated performance that goes the full 80 minutes, if need be.
PSDT is the heart and soul of this Bok team, and if he plays with unyielding passion in his eyes, then the whole team will follow suit.
A breakdown in the narrative
It is quite clear that the Boks are going to target the Irish up-front.
They have selected arguably their best front-row, while Nienaber has also opted for a 6-2 split on the bench. Moreover, the Boks look like they are going for the jugular at the breakdown in particular.
Malcolm Marx and Siya Kolisi will be charged with taking the fight to their hosts early on, while Deon Fourie and Kwagga Smith – perhaps the only players that can be considered as outright jacklers within the matchday 23 – will come off the bench.
The Irish were a bloody nuisance against the All Blacks in this department, recycling their possession quickly and cleanly to put the New Zealanders on the backfoot, so it seems that Nienaber and Co want to slow all of that down with extreme prejudice.
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