LONG READ What Irish and South African experts really think about the opposition

Jean de Villiers enjoyed his time in Ireland so much that, for the past 15 years, he has merrily made himself available whenever I want to talk South African rugby. We first caught up when he was at Munster, in 2009. He helped the Springboks defeat the British & Irish Lions, and win the Tri Nations title, before hopping on a plane to Ireland.

De Villiers was supposed to be taking a break from international rugby but was drafted in by Pieter de Villiers when injury struck Adi Jacobs. Four days before the Boks faced Ireland at Croke, the centre left Munster camp and reconvened with his old buddies.

“Ireland has been our bogey team,” de Villiers admits, “ever since that try from my big friend Ronan O’Gara, in 2004! I think it’s only 2010 and 2012 that we have won there, in the last 21 years.”

“I have a big love for Ireland and have always enjoyed my time there, and going back. The contacts I have with my former Munster teammates are ones that I absolutely treasure. The highlights for me, over the past three weeks, have been seeing my old friend Barry Murphy singing Ireland’s Call in Chicago and the national anthem, in Dublin. That tops it all.”

South African rugby writer, and Lekker Rugby Pod host, Harry Jones will be in Dublin for Saturday’s game. He has followed the Boks all over the world, in recent decades, and is confident about Rassie Erasmus’ men as they take on an Ireland side now hitting some form. Even more so after Ireland stuck with Sam Prendergast in the 10 jersey.

“I remember even walking alongside him in the tunnel, in Cape Town,” says Jones. “He looks ungainly – like a colt that hasn’t yet gained his legs. That’s too easy for the likes of Siya Kolisi and Jasper Wiese. They’ll smell blood and Sam is just going to have a big target on him.”

With Erasmus and Andy Farrell both naming fearsomely strong starting XVs, here is what opposition experts – Jean, Harry and myself – make of both team selections.

Ireland

Andrew Porter
“Quality player. I would have picked Porter as more of an attack weapon, to finish the game. Picking what your optimal 15 is to finish a game is the way more and more coaches are going. I’d like to see Porter in that role.” (HJ)

Dan Sheehan
“A phenomenal player. Himself and Malcolm Marx are similar players and, physically, have got this presence. Both accurate with their darts, strong scrummagers and massive work-rate around the park, whether carrying or tackling. He’s fantastic. One of the main guys South Africa will be hoping to neutralise.” (JdV)
“Sheehan, with his height and athleticism, is definitely a different type of hooker to the likes of Julian Montoya. He’s a tall, elegant, strong runner with good hands. He can lead a pod and do all his core duties. He’s not, to me, the grunty, super-scrum type, like Montoya or Malcolm Marx. You can put Sheehan in the trams, but he operates like Robbie Henshaw. He reminds me of a Schalk Brits.” (HJ)

Tadhg Furlong
“Still their best. Is he at his best? No. I think he’s gone over that peak, but it doesn’t seem to be a steep decline. Whatever he has lost, in terms of dynamism or open-field carries, he’s just your guy that would know how to fix a problem, in the middle of a game. If the scrum is going wrong, you see everyone, Porter included, turning to Tadhg for answers.” (HJ)

James Ryan
“Ryan is sneaky physical and he’s a very, legally, violent player. Ireland are extremely good at playing to their limitations. They’ll know they can’t out-muscle Eben Etzebeth and Ruan Nortje, so they go about attacking them in other ways.” (HJ)

Tadhg Beirne
“The one shining light from the Munster point of view – having Tadhg in that team on a consistent basis. Does a lot of the dirty work, has a massive work-rate and out-put. Whether you slot him in at lock or loose forward, he’s always very effective.” (JdV)
“More of your big flank, small lock. Slithery. Always looks like he is out on his feet but never is. He’s a bit like Tyson Fury, that way. You think, ‘He’s got to go, he’s got to go…’ and yet there he is!” (HJ)

Ryan Baird
“With Doris, van der Flier and Conan, you have, to me, a great loose forward trio. But Ryan has forced his way in and he was great against Australia – really contributing in those lineouts. There’s some nice depth building there.” (JdV)
“Bernard Jackman told me that Baird was always someone that tested high, on every level. If you were just talking about athleticism, wing-span, speed off the ground and metres-per-second, the coaches love him. What’s always held him back is that inattention – looking at a cloud in the sky, or some guy in row five. And that’s not Peter O’Mahony, right? So, you’re replacing O’Mahony – someone who is just savagely and ferociously focused – and I don’t think that’s Baird. Yet. But what you are getting is, he’s a true athlete, and super long, which is vital in lineouts and in stretching out to score. We just want to see if he can grind.” (HJ)

Josh van der Flier
“It’s interesting to ponder what does that van der Flier relationship with Farrell look like, now. There was no hiding the fact that he decided, look, Tom Curry is better than you, and maybe even Jac Morgan. He is such an unheralded guy for Ireland. Even with that World Rugby Player of the Year award, the aura never stuck to him. But I would start him against the Boks as he is your point of difference. We don’t have a proper openside; Siya Kolisi doesn’t play that way, then you have Andre Esterhuizen and Kwagga Smith on the bench. If Josh can give Ireland a good 60 minutes, that could be the difference. He’s someone that can get into small spaces, take the hits, from the likes of Eben, and still live to tell the tale. You guys have had some tight wins over us, in recent years, and a lot of it has come down to you winning the breakdown.” (HJ)

Caelan Doris
“Another guy, like Sheehan, that has come back well from injury and taken on a big leadership role. I was very interested in his selection, against Australia, at openside and his battle with Fraser McReight, around the breakdown. He did so well.” (JdV)
“For me, he is the best player on the team. Better than Sheehan. If Doris is in my squad, whatever the team is, I start him above anyone else. I’d start him at 8, ahead of Jasper Wiese. I don’t know of any 8s out there, right now that are better than him. He’s better than Gregory Alldritt, Ben Earl, whoever. He’s the standard.” (HJ)

Jamison Gibson-Park
“He is the key guy. You saw against Australia that he is coming back to his own – speeding up the play, opportunistic when he’s got ball in hand and making the right decisions, whether it is passing, running or kicking. He’s right at the top.” (JdV)
“A fantastic player. My own take, and maybe it’s controversial, is I think he’ll struggle at the weekend. The speed the Boks are playing with now, at 9, and some of the rule changes around protecting the 9, are going to expose him… the loosies from Ireland are going to have to protect him, or Jamison is going to have to be pushed back to the sweeper role. Then he’ll find that Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu has a strange, uncanny way of finding the sweeper. So does Damian Willemse. Gibson-Park is one of the best scrum-halves from this era but that lost step, even compared with someone like Craig Casey, is definitely something that needs to be considered. (HJ)

Sam Prendergast
“From an attacking point of view, Prendergast is such a massive threat. If you look at how Ireland are getting on top of sides, in recent years, it is because of that continuity, quick ruck ball, and good decision-making between 9 and 10. It just seems as if Prendergast is better at that.” (JdV)
“I’m happier seeing Sam start. For all of his talents, you could even see when Sam played the Stormers in the first round of the URC, he got found out. There was just a concerted effort to run over him. Until he gains that extra 5kgs, until he positions himself differently in the tackle, it will continue to happen. (HJ)

James Lowe
“For me, he’s right up there, maybe just behind Gibson-Park, in terms of his importance. He’s sometimes undervalued, I think, in terms of what he brings to that squad. Being able to exit so well, with that big left boot of his. He hardly ever goes dead with the ball. He keeps it alive with his strength, and his offloading. He’s a fantastic finisher, as well.” (JdV)
“You have to have Lowe in your team, especially without Hugo Keenan there. He’s your real clearance kick and your ‘we will play in the right areas’ guy. In Pretoria, in 2024, he pretty much gave the game to us. He’s a guy that can win or lose a game for you. He tries to do too much. He’s like Kurtley Beale for Australia. You’re like, ‘Wow, you didn’t have to do that much’. (HJ)

Bundee Aki
“Good, honest player. Always gives you everything. I can see why he always tends to get the biggest cheer from the Irish crowd, when he is announced. I remember watching Ireland beating England in Dublin, earlier this year, and Aki seemed to be the leader of the team. Even if he’s not as quick as he used to be, side to side, he’s definitely a guy that will never give up.” (HJ)

Garry Ringrose
“He’s so underestimated and undervalued. He’s so strong, defensively and makes good reads all the time, and good decisions. He’s a quality player.” (JdV)
“He’s got concrete shoulders. He is the player in the Irish backline that I’d fear the most, because he has really absorbed the Jacques Nienaber system. Nienaber would have taught him a lot about how to play against that system. Although the Boks aren’t exactly using the Three Bs – Big Hit, Barge and Blitz – it is still very much like it. Ringrose has got really good at playing ferocious rugby. He can jar the man and make those man-and-ball hits. Him against Jesse Kriel will be box-office.” (HJ)

Tommy O’Brien
“I’d like to see some more of him. It’s hard to opine, but I know he’s quick and he’s a guy, when you put him in space, that’s really smooth. He looks confident. I’ll be looking forward to seeing him live.” (HJ)

Mack Hansen
“Another important player for that Irish kicking game. He was incredible against Australia.” (JdV)
“Mack Hansen reminds me of a guy like Ben Smith from New Zealand. You’d always think, ‘That guy is so lucky. He always scores lucky tries. He always seems to be in the right place’. That’s not luck. When you see it happening that many times, you know that Hansen is a good reader of the game with good spatial relations, and he slithers really well.” (HJ)

South Africa

Boan Venter
Surely pulled straight from the earth at 25 – bearded, gnarly-eared and ready to scrummage. Not a name I would fear, but will give Furlong a tough time at the scrum for first 30-odd minutes, to try soften him up.

Malcolm Marx
Sensational player. One of my favourites to watch. Rassie likes to spread the minutes out among his forwards, but I can see why he is often tempted to ride the Marx train as long as possible.

Thomas du Toit
Absolute truck, in the old-school South African style. Put on this planet to quake from scrum to scrum.

Eben Etzebeth
One of the very best in the modern game. A stalking behemoth that is hard to stop when the pistons are pumping. Like a few of his Bok teammates, has oddly struggled on trips to Dublin. Was memorably flattened by Iain Henderson, in a 38-3 loss, back in 2017.

Ruan Nortje
Pain in the hole, in the best possible way. Has often caused problems for the Irish provinces, in the URC. Still, would worry more if I saw Franco Mostert or (the suspended) Lood de Jager in a Bok starting XV.

Siya Kolisi
God forbid me here, but seems to have lost a bit of his lustre in recent years. A bit like Maro Itoje in terms of his dogged, disruptive talents. Sticks his paws, and head, in where others fear. Has not finished a Test in a year (nine games and counting) but is doing what is being asked of him for the greater good.

Pieter-Steph du Toit
Felt he should have won World Rugby Player of the Year in 2023, when Ardie Savea took home the prize. Still, has enough individual and team accolades to make up for it. A brilliant nuisance of a man.

Jasper Wiese
Duane Vermeulen was always a guy that would give you a white-knuckle ride, even as the years kicked on. Wiese, to me, is more of your solid but less romantic No.8. Was decent in the Lions Test Series but Caelan Doris has outshone him on their two big clashes, to date.

Cobus Reinach
His rise to prominence over the past two years will encourage the similarly statured Caolin Blade to keep in the fight. Garnered a lot of support, and sympathy, in Ireland (and beyond) after brilliantly playing on at the Word Cup, amid death threats, then getting cruelly dropped for the final. His job-share with Grant Williams is going well.

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu
A player many Irish supporters would like to see flounder, for the obvious reason that it would hamper the Boks, and because of the amount of hype he gets. Then you see him play and all that wisps away in the sheer joy and boldness his performances.

Cheslin Kolbe
A joy to watch. A disaster to keep quiet. Really looking forward to seeing him going up against Tommy O’Brien.

Damian de Allende
Still fondly regarded from his time at Munster. Not the type of lad that will rip an opposition defence apart but capable of producing the goods when it really counts.

Jesse Kriel
More than just washboard abs. Always liked him as a player but never minded seeing him on an opposing team-sheet. All that has changed since 2023 and he is a work-horse now. Has a way of popping up at crucial moments with big plays.

Canan Moodie
The South African Jamie Osborne. Take that as the compliment it is intended to be. I would be warier of seeing Kurt-Lee Arendse on the wing, but Moodie has proven he can stand, bang and cut you to ribbons.

Damian Willemse
Was gravely offended when Harry Jones remarked that Willemse was the type of fullback Hugo Keenan could only dream of being. I would still contest that – in open court, if needs be – but Willemse is as reliable as they come. Excellent against Italy and in the Wellington win over New Zealand.