Ireland assistant coach Simon Easterby says his side will have to hit their highest level of the season if they want to extend their impressive recent run against the Springboks.
The back-to-back world champions’ morale is high off the back of three strong performances – including playing two of those Tests with 14 men on the field for the majority of the time.
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Andy Farrell’s team rediscovered their rhythm with a thumping 46-19 win over Australia, following a patchy Japanese outing and an earlier defeat to the All Blacks. But Easterby made it clear to the media on Tuesday, that none of that will matter unless Ireland go up another gear against a South African side that has won 21 of 25 Tests since lifting the World Cup again in 2023.
“I think we’ve been getting better each week, but that has to be the case again this weekend,” Easterby said.
“South Africa have strengths other teams don’t have, and you’ve got to find a few weaknesses as well. We need to be better with and without the ball, including our physicality.”
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The Boks have lost four of their last five meetings with Ireland, but Farrell’s men have never faced a Rassie Erasmus team this settled, this bruising, or this confident. Easterby admitted Ireland’s defence in their own 22 was not good enough in the win over Australia – a vulnerability the Springboks typically punish.
“That’s international rugby. The physicality has to be a given,” he said.
There is good news for Ireland, though: centre Garry Ringrose and flanker Josh van der Flier are both on track to return after hamstring niggles. The pair featured against the All Blacks in Chicago but missed the wins over Japan and Australia.
“They’ve hit the ground running,” Easterby said. “The mood is really good and the lads trained well today.”
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Ireland have beaten South Africa in Dublin twice in the past decade – in 2017 and 2022 – and claimed a famous World Cup pool win last year before drawing the 2024 series 1-1. But Easterby dismissed the idea that Saturday’s result will define their entire autumn.
“It’s not always going to be perfect,” he said. “There’s been plenty of open and honest conversations, and there’s no better challenge than South Africa at the Aviva to see if we can put a lot of those improvements into practice.”
Photo: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile via Getty Images
The post Easterby: Ireland must reach new level to stop Boks appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Ireland assistant coach Simon Easterby says his side will have to hit their highest level of the season if they want to extend their impressive recent run against the Springboks.
The post Easterby: Ireland must reach new level to stop Boks appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
