Former Springboks Rugby World Cup winner Bobby Skinstad, has heaped praise on Ireland ahead of the meeting of the world’s two top teams in what he believes will be a ‘crackerjack’ of a game.
Since retiring from rugby following South Africa’s 2007 World Cup win, Skinstad has moved into the world of consultancy with London firm Elixirr, but the former Springbok skipper and renowned pundit keeps a close eye on the game.
“It’s a clash of the best and predicting a winner is no easy task.” Skinstad told the Irish News ahead of the the pivotal Pool B match at the Stade de France on Saturday evening.
“If you look at the real contenders for this World Cup both South Africa and Ireland are currently on track.
“They’ll both be happy they’ve had a big win each and a medium hit-out, playing the game plan and the players they’ve wanted.
“If you asked both teams two weeks ago what they would like to have at this stage, I think they’d have said two good wins with as little collateral damage as possible and I think they’ve probably ticked that box.”
Both sides go into the match following two wins from their opening games.
Andy Farrell’s side have been barely tested against Romania and Tonga while the Springboks had a decent contest in an opening 18-3 victory against Scotland before their much-changed line-up romped to a 76-0 win over the Romanians.
Thanks to a quirk of the draw, the top two ranked teams in the world will be squaring off before the knockouts which Skinstad believes adds to the intrigue surrounding the game.
“This is set to be an absolute crackerjack of a game, but the beauty is it doesn’t end the World Cup for the other team - they might even meet each other later on in the tournament,” he said.
“The interesting thing here is who can get ascendancy now and turn it into something that they can build a game plan for in case they meet again later on in the tournament.”
Skinstad believes that both sides will be hard-pressed to find any major weaknesses in their opposition, so it will be a case of trying to mitigate the threats posed in some key areas.
“Both sides have tremendous strengths. I think if you’re trying to target a team with the quality of Ireland, you try and nullify some of their strengths.
“They have the fastest ruck speed in World Rugby which means they attack quicker than anyone else.
“Ireland have an extremely structured pattern so if you could fracture that in any way that might help. It has been the same playbook with Ireland for a long time and Johnny Sexton is the architect of that.
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“So, it will be a question of whether we can slow down their ruck ball, prevent their width-game and stop their set-piece attack which has been outstanding. If I was the coach, I would be asking ‘how can we deal with their cross-field kicking and deep-field exit kicking’?
“South Africa will be working on all of that in the background so it will be important to play our own game and see how that affects them, but also manifest those things they’ve been working on to disrupt Ireland if they hope to win this game.
“In terms of what Ireland need to do, they will look to target South Africa’s set-piece, which has improved a lot, and stop the driving maul and quick platform ball off the top of the lineout.
“Malcolm Marx is out injured so will they look to target the hooker? Marx is an outstanding player and a hugely important character for this team.
“I’m desperately disappointed for him because he has got so much to give that squad. But there has been some discussion over whether his injury has left them light at hooker. I don’t believe so.
“Mbonambi is there as well as Deon Fourie and Marco van Staden who can step in. They are well covered in that position.
“It will be a war of attrition and Ireland will have to match them physically.
“If the big South African pack start to carry and get over the advantage line and get that momentum will Ireland be able to stop them and use their really effective loose forwards to steal the ball or at least slow them down? It will be an interesting battle.”
South Africa head coach Jacques Nienaber has opted to roll out a forward-dominated bench with just one backline specialist among their replacements.
He has also resisted the temptation to rush back Handré Pollard, preferring instead to retain Manie Libbok as their starting 10.
Skinstad notes there are several individual battles which could prove crucial on Saturday.
“The battle of the tens will be crucial. South Africa have a young, enthusiastic and exciting 10 in Manie Libbok, while Ireland have Sexton who has been in that role for a long time and other guys who can step in to fulfil that game-plan.
“Saturday will be about the big players stepping up to the occasion. The spine of the team – the like of James Ryan, Josh van der Flier and Sexton will need to have big games.
“From a South African perspective, the likes of Etzebeth coming back into the team will be significant.
“South Africa also have a secret weapon in Siya Kolisi. He has been absolutely outstanding in terms of net contributions but sometimes goes under the radar because he’s not a flashy player.
“He carries, tackles, gets over the ball and helps in every aspect of the game – he’s the glue that holds the team together.
“When he’s not there you notice the breakdown is more peaceful but when he’s on the pitch he creates chaos at the ruck and is in trying to pinch the ball and slowing things down.”