Ireland a clever team with good plans, De Jager warns

Top-ranked nation Ireland are a clever team with good plans and will be a tough nut to crack at their Dublin fortress on Saturday, says Springbok lock Lood de Jager.

The towering forward is a survivor of the Bok team that crashed to a heavy 38-3 defeat against the Irish in Dublin in 2017.

Four penalties from Johnny Sexton and a first international try for Andrew Conway put Ireland in control before three tries in the last 10 minutes from Rhys Ruddock, Rob Herring and Jacob Stockdale completed the Boks’ misery.

This time De Jager is hoping for a different outcome against a buoyant Irish side who are ranked No 1 in the world after an away series win over the All Blacks.

“That defeat is difficult for us to forget and it was a low point for us as a team,” De Jager said. “But that was five years ago and we are expecting another tough challenge. 

“Hopefully it will be a better day at the office.

“Ireland are a clever team with good plans who do the subtle things which can throw you off.

“I rate Ireland very highly and they have got good line-out jumpers and they do their analysis on teams.

“I think Ireland are right up there and they have one of the best line-outs in both the attacking and defensive sense.

“We are facing a big test against Ireland a year out from a World Cup.

“It will be tough playing them away from home and they have momentum after beating the All Blacks in New Zealand.

“The guys are expecting a tough Test.”

Wary Bok coach Jacques Nienaber says his team can expect a massive Ireland  onslaught.

“Ireland are the top-ranked team in the world currently and they’ve shown in the past that they can be a force to be reckoned with in Dublin,” he said.

“We last faced them on their home patch in 2017 and they beat us in that match, and they also beat us here 29-15 in 2014 and they will draw confidence from that.

“Similarly  to us, they will also view this as a vital clash with an eye on next year’s World Cup in France where we will cross paths in the pool stages.

“We are a long way out from the World Cup, but we have a limited number of matches left before the competition and the preparation doesn’t get better than playing a side we will face in the World Cup and the No 1 side in the world.

“This match is important for us for many reasons, one of which is to test our player combinations with the World Cup less than a year away.”

Cheslin Kolbe, whose last Test was in the home series against Wales, will start at fullback in a back three with Kurt-Lee Arendse and Makazole Mapimpi, while Jesse Kriel will pair up with Damian de Allende in an experienced midfield.

Damian Willemse will don the No 10 jersey in a halfback pairing with Jaden Hendrikse (scrumhalf), while Nienaber opted for Jasper Wiese at No 8 in a loose trio with Pieter Steph du Toit and Siya Kolisi, given the physical challenge expected from the Irish forwards.