Battle-hardened Bok coaches primed to win brain game in Dublin

Rassie Erasmus’s Springboks have married their traditional set-piece and kicking strengths with a more adventurous attacking approach, and have won 83% of their Tests in 2025. They’ve retained the Freedom Cup as well as the Rugby Championship title for the first time, and have beaten France, the reigning Six Nations champions, in Paris.

The 2025 season will go down as one of the most successful in South African rugby history, regardless of the result in Dublin on Saturday, 22 November. If the Boks lose to Ireland but rebound to beat Wales, they may still finish the year at the top of the World Rugby rankings.

With a couple of major titles as well as the No 1 ranking in the bag, it would be a case of “job done”. Right?

Erasmus himself may disagree with this line of thinking. This all-conquering group of players and coaches hold themselves to a higher standard, and certainly have something to prove against Ireland, bearing recent results in mind.

Although they’ve won everything there is to win in international rugby and have beaten nearly every major team home and away, they’ve never won in Dublin in the Erasmus era dating back to 2018 – and have lost three of their last four matches against Ireland. What’s more, South Africa’s winning drought in Ireland stretches back to 2012.

For a team that’s ended so many dry spells over the past eight years – claiming long-awaited wins in New Zealand (2018), Cardiff (2021), Sydney and London (both 2022), and Brisbane (2024) – the next clash should be marked as yet another opportunity to add to the legacy.

Series draw felt like a loss

Erasmus has made no secret of the fact that he holds opposite number Andy Farrell and the Ireland coaching staff in the highest regard. In the Chasing the Sun 2 docuseries, there’s a particularly interesting scene where the Bok boss talks about the “soul” of each opposing team – a reference to the group’s identity as well as their primary threat.

Ireland, says Erasmus, are a detail-driven side. They may not have the physical resources of teams like SA, but they win the brain game more often than not. They find the chink in an opposition’s armour and ruthlessly exploit it.

The Boks lost 13-8 to Ireland in a pool match at the 2023 World Cup. Although Erasmus and his coaches took some responsibility, there was a feeling – which was articulated in the same docuseries – that the senior players didn’t take that fixture seriously enough, as their place in the playoffs was more or less assured after an opening-round win against Scotland.

The Boks went on to win the World Cup title, but there was no complacency in the lead-up to the two-match series against Ireland in July 2024. The players took the fight to the Irish from the outset of the first Test in Pretoria, and never looked like losing the contest. The Boks emerged with a 27-20 win, and as many observed in the aftermath, the scoreline flattered the visitors.

But as the series moved to Durban, there was a sense that Ireland were holding something back, and planning an ambush at Kings Park. An epic arm-wrestle was eventually decided by a late Ciarán Frawley drop goal. Ireland celebrated the 1-1 series draw as if they had won the rubber outright, and the Boks lamented a missed opportunity to seize control of the burgeoning rivalry.

Farrell factor

As many observed at the time, it was a shame that the series was limited to two matches, and that two of the game’s heavyweights would be forced to wait more than 16 months for their next meeting, in Dublin on 22 November 2025.

During that timeframe, the Boks have overtaken the All Blacks as the dominant force in the Rugby Championship and consolidated their position at the top of the world rankings.

Ireland have lost twice to the All Blacks in that period and finished third in the 2025 Six Nations after sustaining a 42-27 hiding at the hands of France. It’s worth noting that Ireland were without their head coach for the duration of the Six Nations, as Farrell was tasked with preparing the British & Irish Lions for a crucial tour to Australia.

Ireland’s loss was the Lions’ gain, as Farrell led the composite side to a 2-1 victory against the Wallabies – and ended the Lions’ 12-year wait for an outright series win. Can Farrell lift Ireland ahead of the next showdown with the Boks?

Ireland appeared largely underdone when they faced the All Blacks in Chicago earlier this month, losing 26-13. Since then, they’ve beaten Japan 41-10 and Australia 46-19. As was the case in 2024, Farrell may be holding something back specifically for this match, as the result may be all-important. The narrative will change if the man who coached the Lions to their first outright series victory in more than a decade follows it up with a win against the world’s leading team.

The Irish players who featured on that successful tour to Australia may be viewed in a new light if they back it up with a victory over the greatest Bok team of all time. And in that event, questions will be asked about the Boks and their struggles against Ireland, regardless of their outstanding overall record for the 2025 season.

Erasmus will remember what happened in the wake of the series draw in 2024, and how the Boks were made to wait more than a year to respond. If they lose in Dublin this weekend, they must wait another 12 months for the chance to set the record straight, when Ireland host SA in the inaugural Nations Championship. With that in mind, there’s no reason for complacency ahead of this weekend’s game.

Boks primed for tactical battle

Players often talk about measuring themselves against the best opponents, and the Boks will have a chance to do so when they face several Lions who starred in the recent series in Australia. For Erasmus and his lieutenants, the ­challenge doesn’t get any bigger than a showdown with Farrell and the Irish ­coaching staff, who have had the wood on their SA counterparts in most of the recent meetings.

That said, it’s been encouraging to note how the Bok coaches have adapted to all the challenges that have come their way in the recent Rugby Championship and on the present tour to Europe.

Erasmus has enhanced his reputation with a series of inspired substitutions and tactical adjustments, and the team has navigated two tricky fixtures against France and Italy, in spite of two red-card setbacks. And just as Farrell may be holding something back, Erasmus will have a trick or two up his sleeve as he attempts to claim one of the most important results of the year. DM

Teams:
Ireland: 15 Mack Hansen, 14 Tommy O’Brien, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris (captain), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Ryan Baird, 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 James Ryan, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter.
Reserves: 16 Rónan Kelleher, 17 Paddy McCarthy, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 Cian Prendergast, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Craig Casey, 22 Jack Crowley, 23 Tom Farrell.

South Africa: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Cheslin Kolbe, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Boan Venter.
Reserves: 16 Johan Grobbelaar, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Andre Esterhuizen, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Manie Libbok.

Date: Saturday, 22 November
Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Kick-off: 7:40pm (SuperSport)
Referee: Matthew Carley (England)
Assistant referees: Karl Dickson (England), Christophe Ridley (England)
TMO: Andrew Jackson (England)

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.