The Ireland rugby squad has touched down on South African soil ahead of their two Tests against the Springboks.
The Springboks will face Ireland at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday, 6 July.
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The clash will be the 29th between the two nations since their first encounter nearly 118 years ago when on 26 November 1906 South Africa won 15-12 at the Balmoral Showgrounds in Belfast.
The 30th match between the two sides will follow a week later at Hollywoodbets Kings Park in Durban.
Kick-off in both matches is at 17:00.
Ireland took to social media to post images and video of them departing the Emerald Isle and arriving in Johannesburg.
New referee for Springboks vs Ireland Tests
Meanwhile, as reported by The South African website, the Springboks will have a new referee handling their upcoming series against Ireland after Australia’s Angus Gardner withdrew from the officiating team for “personal reasons”.
World Rugby confirmed that he will be replaced by English referee Luke Pearce, who will take charge of the first Test.
Another English referee, Karl Dickson, will be in charge of the second Test in Durban on Saturday, 13 July.
OFFICIALS FOR SPRINGBOKS‘ TESTS VS IRELAND:
SATURDAY, 6 JULY
South Africa vs Ireland – Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Referee: Luke Pearce (RFU)
Assistant Referee 1: Karl Dickson (RFU)
Assistant Referee 2: Mike Adamson (SRU)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)
SATURDAY, 13 JULY
South Africa vs Ireland – Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban
Referee: Karl Dickson (RFU)
Assistant Referee 1: Luke Pearce (RFU)
Assistant Referee 2: Craig Evans (WRU)
TMO: Ian Tempest (RFU)
Ireland could claim top spot
It is possible for Ireland to take over from the Springboks atop the standings following the Pretoria Test.
For that to happen, Ireland would need to win by 16 or more points. That would see them pick up 2.53 points, while the Springboks would lose a similar amount.
Should Ireland win by 15 or fewer points, they will pick up 1.69 points (and the Springboks would lose 1.69 points), but that would not be enough to see a change at the top.
A draw would see Ireland gain 0.69 points (and the Springboks lose that same number).
A win by 1-15 points for the Springboks would see Rassie Erasmus’s men add 0.31 points to their tally, while victory by 16 or more points would see South Africa gain 0.47 points.
Springboks vs Ireland history
In the 28 Tests played to date, South Africa have won 18 with Ireland emerging victorious on just nine occasions.
There has been one draw (8-8 in 1970 at Lansdowne Road in Dublin).
Of those 28 Tests played, 10 have been held in South Africa with the Springboks winning nine and losing just once (when Ireland memorably played with 14 men for over an hour after CJ Stander was red-carded for his collision with Pat Lambie at Newlands in 2016).
The two sides have only once played previously at Loftus Versfeld – and the match ended in a record 33-0 win for the Springboks.
That clash took place on 20 June 1998 when tries by James Dalton, Rassie Erasmus, Pieter Rossouw, Joost van der Westhuizen and Gary Teichmann, along with four conversions by Percy Montgomery, gave the Springboks their biggest ever home margin of victory over Ireland.
Something similar in the pipeline for next weekend? Time will tell …
Impressive record
Meanwhile, 17 matches have been held in Ireland, with South Africa boasting an impressive record on the Emerald Isle having triumphed in nine of those matches with Ireland tasting victory on seven occasions (along with that stalemate in 1970).
Last year’s Rugby World Cup clash in France was the first occasion that the sides had met on neutral ground.
Ireland won that pool phase match 13-8.
South Africa have scored a total of 530 points in those 28 Tests, while conceding 412 for an average score of 19-15.
In recent years, Ireland have fared a lot better in matches against the Springboks, winning eight of the last 12 Tests dating back to the end of year tour in 2004.
TEAMS
South Africa
TBA
Ireland
TBA
