Cape Town — If the Springboks can win the breakdown battle, then they will be well on their way to beating Ireland in Dublin on Saturday (7.30pm kick-off).
That was how captain Siya Kolisi — who will be right in the thick of the race for the loose ball at the Aviva Stadium — responded on Friday ahead of what is expected to be an enthralling encounter between the world champions and the team at the top of the rankings at the moment.
Many pundits would list Ireland as the favourites, considering they are at home and beat the All Blacks in New Zealand in their series in July.
But the Boks nearly clinched the Rugby Championship as well, coming second to the Kiwis, and beat Argentina home and away in their last Tests in September.
Most of their top players have had some time off in recent weeks, and will be keen to lay down a marker ahead of the defence of their World Cup title in France next year.
Of course, the last time the South Africans were in Dublin they suffered a 38-3 drubbing at the hands of Ireland in 2017, so they will hope to turn the tables this time around.
But Ireland are a highly efficient unit who are consistent with their multi-phase ball-in-hand attacking approach, while they have a master flyhalf in captain Johnny Sexton to score the points with his boot.
The Boks, though, need to disrupt the home team’s rhythm, and that can only be achieved if Kolisi and fellow loose forwards Pieter-Steph du Toit and Jasper Wiese halt their momentum upfront.
“I think the breakdown is going to be very important this weekend, as you can see from the loose forwards that they have and what they’ve done in the past,” the Bok skipper said from the Irish capital on Friday.
Your #Springboks team to face Ireland in Dublin tomorrow 🇿🇦#StrongerTogether #StrongerForever #IREvRSA pic.twitter.com/60EeESU3i2
— Springboks (@Springboks) November 4, 2022
“Their lock, Tadhg Beirne is also very good at the breakdown, and the prop (Andrew) Porter is also very good at the breakdown. So, that is going to be important in them securing the ball, and obviously us trying to slow their ball down, because we know they don’t mind going to 15 phases-plus.
“We trust our defence … We’ve done it before and I believe we can do it again. So, it’s all going to be about patience in the game — who can be disciplined during those phases.
“Like you said, Johnny Sexton has a big boot: if we give penalties away, he will put us back into our 22. So, discipline in our breakdown is going to be important.”
Ireland openside flank Josh van der Flier looms as one of the major threats in preventing the visitors from getting their moves going with ball in hand, though, so Kolisi will also have his hands full in his primary role of securing the Boks’ possession on attack at the rucks.
Van der Flier has been recovering from an ankle injury and hasn’t featured for Leinster in the URC over the past few weeks, but he is a superb fetcher and was voted as Ireland’s players’ player of the year last season.
“I think he’s a great player, he’s shown it over the years. I’m not sure, but I think it’s the first time I will play against him, so I’m looking forward to that,” Kolisi said about Van der Flier.
“Even in the URC he has been playing very well — the Champions Cup too. So, it’s going to be a good challenge and I am really looking forward to that.
“Also, the other loose forwards that he is playing with — Peter O’Mahony has done it for so many years, and (Caelan) Doris has been playing very well.
“So, it’s going to be a proper challenge for myself, Pieter and Jasper.
“It’s going to show us where we stand, and where we are. We can look at ourselves after this game and say ‘This is where we are, and this is what we need to work on going forward’, because we are playing against some of the best in the world.”
Teams
Springboks: 15 Cheslin Kolbe, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Damian Willemse, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Steven Kitshoff.
Replacements: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Franco Mostert, 20 Deon Fourie, 21 Kwagga Smith, 22 Faf de Klerk, 23 Willie le Roux.
Ireland: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Robert Baloucoune, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 Mack Hansen, 10 Johnny Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Caelan Doris, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Peter O’Mahony, 5 James Ryan, 4 Tadhg Beirne, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements: 16 Rob Herring, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Finlay Bealham,19 Kieran Treadwell, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Jamison Gibson Park, 22 Joey Carbery, 23 Stuart McCloskey
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