The Springboks claimed a relatively comfortable 27-20 win over Ireland at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, and will now be targeting a clean sweep against the No 2-ranked team in the world.
This Saturday’s second Test in Durban kicks off at 17:00 and will be broadcast live on SuperSport, with the build up starting at 16:00.
South Africa have retained the same matchday 23, and Rassie Erasmus said he expected Ireland to come out all guns blazing.
“We’ve been on the wrong side of the scoreboard on a few occasions too and we remember how it felt to suffer a defeat against them in the World Cup pool stages, and we have no doubt they are feeling the same this week,” he commented.
They are a proud team and nation and they’ll be disappointed that they were unable to capitalise on a few opportunities last week close to our tryline, so they will work hard this week to fix their mistakes and ensure that they convert their chances into points.
“This is going to be another physically gruelling match, and just like us, they will be determined to correct the wrongs of last week.
“There is also the other important matter of them of trying to draw the series, while we would be delighted to win both matches, which will fuel their motivation, so it is going to be another spectacle of top-class rugby.”
Here is some key information for the Springboks-Ireland ‘rematch’
South Africa: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Handré Pollard 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Kwagga Smith, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche.
Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Salmaan Moerat, 20 RG Snyman, 21 Marco van Staden, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
Match information and officials
Date: Saturday, July 13
Venue: Kings Park, Durban
Kick-off: 17.00 (16.00 UK time; 15.00 GMT)
Referee: Karl Dickson (England)
Assistant referees: Luke Pearce (England), Craig Evans (Wales)
TMO: Ian Tempest (England)
Stats and facts:
Springbok record against Ireland:
Played 29, Won 19, Lost 9, Drawn 1. Points for: 557; Points against: 432. Tries scored: 75; Tries conceded: 41. Highest score: 38; Biggest win: 38 points (38-0). Average score: 19-15. Win %: 65.5%.
Miscellaneous:
- Frans Malherbe will start at tighthead prop for the 59th time, which moves him one clear of Jannie du Plessis into third on the list for the most starts at prop, behind Tendai Mtawarira (102) and Os du Randt (75).
- The centre pairing of Jesse Kriel and Damian de Allende will set a new record of playing the most Test matches together in the midfield (30), which surpasses the previous record set by Jean de Villiers and Jaque Fourie of 29 Tests.
- Cheslin Kolbe needs four points to reach 100 points in Tests for South Africa.
- Kwagga Smith is only seven Test caps away from earning his 50th Test cap after this match.
- Willie le Roux needs only five Test caps after Saturday’s match to join the select club of Springbok centurions.
- The total Test caps for the Springbok starting line-up is 990, the most experienced starting XV ever selected by South Africa.
- There are 419 caps in the backline, with 571 caps among the forwards. On the bench there are a further 190
- The average caps per player in the backline is 59, the forwards 71, while the players on the bench average 23.
