Scrumhalf Conor Murray will become the eighth Irish player to reach the 100-cap landmark when he starts against world champions South Africa in Saturday’s Test match at Lansdowne Road.

The 33-year-old starts in place of regular No 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, who has been relegated to the bench.

“He is a legend of Irish rugby, as he has shown through the years. He is a tough old character and steely strong,” Ireland coach Andy Farrell told the media on Thursday.

“The biggest compliment I can pay him is that he is a top-class bloke. I do not know anyone who has a bad word to say about him.”

It is Murray’s first start since Ireland’s victory over Argentina last November and only his second since the 2021 Six Nations match against England.

Conor Murray during Ireland’s Six Nations match against England at Twickenham on 23 February 2020. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Facundo Arrizabalaga)

His selection reunites him at half-back with long-time Test partner and captain Johnny Sexton.

Murray, who briefly captained the 2021 British & Irish Lions to South Africa after regular skipper Alun Wyn Jones was injured before the tour started, has played second fiddle to Gibson-Park for the past year.

But the latter has only just recovered from injury and Murray’s particular set of skills, notably the accuracy of his contestable kicking, will ask some tough questions of the Boks’ relatively small back three.

Cheslin Kolbe is set for his first Test start at fullback, while the impressive Kurt-Lee Arendse has forced his way into the starting team on the back of impressive form when picked.

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Arendse’s brilliant showing against the All Blacks in Mbombela earlier this year, which was marred by a late red card for a clumsy tackle, underlined his credentials at this level.

In tandem with Kolbe and Makazole Mapimpi, it’s a back three that, on paper at least, is the most exciting the Boks have picked to date. But Dublin, fine city that it is, is not the Highveld and the Aviva Stadium is likely to be wet and slippery.

Southern hemisphere dominance

Ireland is coming off an impressive away series win against New Zealand in July. A 32-22 victory in Wellington secured a historic 2-1 series win over the All Blacks – their first series win in the country.

The Irish will be looking to display their superiority over the traditionally dominant southern hemisphere side on Saturday.

“They are a different challenge for us from the All Blacks,” said Farrell about the Boks.

It is the first time Ireland will be hosting the Springboks since 2017 when they thrashed the visitors 38-3.

Ireland’s Conor Murray clears the ball against Scotland at Aviva Stadium in Dublin on 2 February 2014. (Photo: EPA / Aidan Crawley)

The Boks were still under the guidance of Allister Coetzee at the time and Ireland were coached by New Zealander Joe Schmidt, who is currently assisting with the All Blacks.

The encounter at Aviva is a tantalising curtain-raiser to the main event next year when the sides face each other in the same group at the World Cup.

“It will help us down the track 100%. They will play to their strengths and they are a world-class side,” said Farrell.

World rankings

Springbok director of rugby Rassie Erasmus is wary of the threat posed by the Irish. They are not the world’s best team, based on rankings, by accident. They’ve earned it through quality performances and consistency.

“World rankings is a temporary thing, it can change like that (quickly),” said Erasmus, who will return to the stadium on Saturday after his ban ends.

“We don’t always understand how the rankings work, but when you look at a team and you analyse a team, they’re red-hot. I’m not blowing smoke up their arse, they’re just really competitive in all areas of the game.

“I think this Ireland team has got a physical edge on them,” he said. “I think this team has got a tactical edge on them. I think this team is confident.

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“I think if you take the experience of Johnny [Sexton] and some of the other guys in the team, that it’s well balanced and they’re playing at home.

“They beat us 38-3 [in 2017], so that’s how good Joe was, and now Andy has them No 1 in the world, so it’s difficult to compare. I just think this team, apart from the technicalities, has got a real good physical edge on them as well.”

Director of rugby Rassie Erasmus at a training session at University of Dublin on 1 November 2022. (Photo: Brendan Moran / Sportsfile / Gallo Images)

South Africa haven’t beaten Ireland in that country since 2012.

“That’s why, when you look at our team, there’s not a lot of unsettled players in this team,” said Erasmus.

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It will be a salivating encounter between the No 1-ranked side and the current World Cup champions.

“We have to give them the respect that they absolutely deserve. They’re the best team in the world – they’re world champions,” said Ireland captain Sexton.

“They’re a top-class team. They’ve won the World Cup, beat the [British & Irish] Lions, and had some big results over the last few years.

Rob Kearney of Ireland in action against Jesse Kriel at Aviva Stadium on 11 November 2017. (Photo: Brendan Moran / Sportsfile / Gallo Images)

“In terms of testing ourselves, it’s huge how we can get a result. We need to bring our game and make sure we do it even better. Because if you have a couple of results like we had in the summer [beating New Zealand], teams start to properly look at you. We have to do it better, we have to evolve and make sure we bring something new to the table.”

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Sexton has recognised the challenge facing his side, acknowledging the plethora of attacking options as well as the Boks’ traditional strengths.

“The South African DNA is unbelievably strong up front, strong set piece, and base the majority of their game off that. Good kicking game, good in the air, but they’re also not afraid to play when it’s on,” he said. “They’re not afraid to go wide and they’ve picked a pretty exciting backline – a backline they probably haven’t had the luxury of picking so far because of injuries and suspensions.” 

The match kicks off at 7.30pm. DM

Teams:

Ireland

15 Hugo Keenan; 14 Robert Baloucoune, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 Mack Hansen; 10 Johnny Sexton (captain), 9 Conor Murray; 8 Caelan Doris; 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Peter O’Mahony; 5 James Ryan, 4 Tadhg Beirne; 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter.

Reserves: 16 Rob Herring, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 Kieran Treadwell, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Jamison Gibson-Park, 22 Joey Carbery, 23 Stuart McCloskey.

Springboks

15 Cheslin Kolbe, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Damian Willemse, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Steven Kitshoff.

Reserves: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Franco Mostert, 20 Deon Fourie, 21 Kwagga Smith, 22 Faf de Klerk, 23 Willie le Roux.