Ireland v South Africa: Irish make four changes as Springboks recall big guns
South Africa head coach Rassie Erasmus, who rotated his team for last week’s win over Italy, recalled several key players including fly-half Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, center Damian de Allende and second-row Eben Etzebeth.
Erasmus’ squad features two changes from the impressive 32-17 win over France in Paris two weeks ago; Lood de Jager and Kurt-Lee Arendse are replaced by Ruan Nortje and Canan Moodie.
De Jager was suspended for the red card he received against France, while Arendse, who scored a try against Ireland in Pretoria last year, returned to South Africa after suffering a concussion against the Italians.
Franco Mostert was excluded from the election due to this week’s disciplinary hearing. On Wednesday, the second-strings’ red card against Italy was overturned, but South Africa said they did not want the outcome of the hearing to affect the team’s preparations.
RG Snyman, who played alongside much of the Ireland squad in Leinster, will earn his 50th Springboks Test cap off the bench.
“The majority of this squad was rested last week to allow them to recover from the physically demanding match against France and it was always our plan to name an experienced squad against Ireland,” Erasmus said.
South Africa have not won in Dublin since 2012; He suffered defeats in 2014, 2017 and 2022.
“This group of players have never won a match in Ireland before, so we know how difficult it will be to win here and that will definitely motivate us,” Erasmus added.
“It will require a tremendous effort, but we are excited about the challenge and know we will need to be extremely sharp in all departments to achieve the desired outcome.”
