Ireland vs. South Africa - The Irish Perspective

As the evenings close in and the leaves begin to take over, our attention switches from the dramatic opening rounds of the Heineken..er I mean, the European Rugby Champions Cup, to the dizzying heights of International rugby.

Joe Schmidt and an injury hit Ireland camp face into the Guinness series where they will play South Africa, Georgia and Australia. First up though is South Africa, the number 2 ranked team in World rugby, who make their way to Dublin off the back of a period of self-discovery in this year’s Rugby Championship. The Boks come with a spring in their step (pun definitely intended) after a well-deserved victory over their fiercest rivals, New Zealand. As my co-writer alluded to in the post above, they appear to have in their ranks, one of, if not, the most in form number 8 in world rugby, Duane Vermualen. He's abrasive, strong in defence, great carrier and supposedly very similar to Steffon Armitage at ruck time in that it will take a dumper truck to move him. Is he worth singling out though when you look at the rest of the team? We'll soon see.... Never mind about them though, we're here to talk about us....

Joe has picked an interesting team, with 6 Leinster, 3 Ulster, 4 Munster, 1 Connacht and 1 Racing Metro player making up the starting XV, this notion of "Blue Joe" can and should be forgotten about. Bold calls have been made, Mike Ross and to a lesser extent, Rob Kearney are fitness gambles while the most obvious gamble will come in the centres where Schmidt has opted for the new partnership of Robbie Henshaw and Jared Payne. Team selection is always a hot topic for debate but there aren't many arguing with this starting team given the injury list. Cian Healy, Rory Best, Donnacha Ryan, Sean O'Brien, Keith Earls, Gordon D'arcy, Andrew Trimble, Fergus McFadden and that other younger more boring Kearney are all injured.(Not to mention the early retirement of Stephen Ferris). A loss that most international teams in the world would feel, even the Kearney fella. But alas the show must go on!

And on it will, tomorrow at 17.30 when they face off against the bruising Boks. Where though will the game be won and lost?

 

The Scrum

Make no mistake about it, Mike Ross' fitness will have a massive impact on this game. If he can't shore up the scrum for at least 60 minutes, Ireland will go down like the titanic. Jack McGrath is a feisty competitor on the loose head side and will look to lay down the gauntlet in Cian Healys absence but he can't do it all on his own.

The Centre Partnership

If ever there was a baptism of fire, this is it. Jared Payne makes his long awaited debut in a green shirt while Robbie Henshaw runs out for his 4th cap and his first at inside centre. Henshaw is a big boy though and won't shy away from a carry and a tackle. It's the man alongside him I'd worry about the most. Payne has been earmarked as BO'Ds replacement for a long time now, but there aren't many people who would disagree with me when I say, his best position is at fullback. In fact, he has yet to show how good he can be at 13. The same can be said for Henshaw running at 12 and based on this being an unknown entity in the middle of the park; you have to say it could go either way for the new pair. One suspects you will see the inclusion of the magical Ian Madigan in midfield at some stage if things aren't going well.

Where can we expect Ireland to be better?

At Outhalf

South Africas new kid on the block, Handre Pollard is highly rated in South Africa and many a comparison has been made with himself and Sexton. A fine compliment at such a young age but in the heat of the battle I'll take a proven, experienced out half over a young gun any day. Johnny Sexton was to the fore for Ireland in last year’s Six Nations and he will look to continue that influence tomorrow. Sexton also has the tactical kicking game which Pollard is only coming to terms with and that will be massive in a game of small margins tomorrow.

The Back 3

Attacking wise, I'm excited for Ireland tomorrow. Kearney, Zebo and Bowe 3 of Irelands most dangerous attackers out wide however they will be up against it tomorrow. Willie Le Roux in my opinion is the most inventive fullback in world rugby at the minute. Good tactical kicker but more importantly, not afraid to run with ball in hand. Add onto that, he has buckets of pace outside him in Bryan Habanna and Cornal Hendrix.

Coach

Joe Schmidt and his merry band of men have been very effective for Ireland in the last year. His meticulous attention to detail is something which could have an impact on the final result of this match and having spoken about specifically about South Africans 8 and 10, you have to assume he has watched closely how they operate.

Prediction Time

Much like Francois, I'm not fond of predictions and much like Francois I'm leaning more towards a South African win tomorrow. I think it will be tight at the finish and no more than 3 points either way but ultimately I fear that Ireland won't have 80 minutes of scrummaging in them and will prove the difference in what is expected to be a cagey affair. One things for sure though, the new jerseys are rotten!

Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin Date: Saturday, 8 November 2014 Kick-off: 17:30 GMT Prediction: South Africa by a hair