South Africa vs. Ireland Location: Kings Park Stadium
South Africa vs. Ireland Date: Saturday, July 13
BetXchange South Africa vs. Ireland Odds:
History
If Ireland are to pick up just their second win over the Springboks on South African soil on Saturday, they will be doing it the hard way. They are down in numbers after a high-intensity, heavyweight battle at Loftus Versfeld in the first Test took a toll on the tourists.
A major feature of the first Test was how invigorated the South African attack looked under coach Tony Brown. The Springboks have been accused of leaning on their forward power to win games without playing the exciting rugby seen by some other nations, and questions have been raised about the sustainability of that tactic. If the first quarter of the Test in Pretoria is anything to go by, then the Springboks will be even more dangerous during this World Cup cycle, with a new emphasis on attacking creativity.
The Springbok scrum was as dominant as ever, with the Bomb Squad ramping up the pressure late in the game. This avenue sealed the game for South Africa after a couple of controversial TMO decisions, with a late penalty try.
South Africa
South Africa has the luxury of being able to name an unchanged side for the second Test after all players with niggles and knocks were able to work them out this week in training.
This means that Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel will reach a milestone on Saturday as they become the most capped center pairing in the Springboks’ history. Given that Lukhanyo Am has also starred in the midfield for the Boks over the last couple of World Cup cycles, the 30 Tests De Allende and Kriel have played together are even more impressive.
Ireland
There are four changes to the Ireland side for the Durban Test after the tourists were battered and bruised coming out of Pretoria. The most notable change is seen in the flanker Peter O’Mahony dropping to the bench, and the captaincy is handed to Caelan Doris. Craig Casey is missing with a concussion, meaning that COno Murray will step in at scrum-half, while Bundee Aki is out with a shoulder injury. Thanks to his go-forward play, Aki is a huge miss for Ireland, so Robbie Henshaw will slide over to 12, with the elusive Garry Ringrose playing at 13.
The worst news for the Irish is that hooker Dan Sheehan has a suspected ACL tear and has already returned to the Emerald Isle to assess his options.
Best Bets
Ireland was in the first Test until the end and could have snuck a win had James Lowe’s try been allowed to stand and/or Cheslin Kolbe’s score been ruled out. That said, this is a team running on fumes. Aki is a massive miss in the midfield, with Ringrose being a completely different type of player to the Aki/Henshaw center pairing. I think that South Africa win this one and cover the handicap, taking the victory by more than 10 points.
