Ireland vs. South Africa: Rassie Erasmus calls in big guns as Springboks seek first victory in Dublin since 2012
South Africa set off as favourites in Dublin duel against Ireland
When the fixture list for the 2025 Autumn Nations Series was released, most South African rugby fans had ringed this matchup as the toughest, as well as the one they wanted to win the most. Check out our Ireland vs. South Africa prediction.
Over the past few years, the Springboks have become one of the greatest rugby teams ever seen, and they have reinforced that this month, overcoming numerical disadvantages in their last two matches to maintain their perfect record in this series and confirm our rugby predictions.
Rassie Erasmus’ side successfully defended their Rugby Championship title this year before making light work of Japan in their opening match of the Autumn Nations Series. They then defeated France 32-17 and Italy 32-14 in matches that they played almost entirely with 14 men.
However, despite their incredible performances over the first three weeks in this competition, this is the matchup that the Boks will know counts the most, as Ireland have been a bogey side for them in recent times.
Andy Farrell’s side have won four of their last five matches against the world champions, including at the World Cup, where few can forget the scenes of Irish fans bellowing out the song “Zombie” by the Cranberries.
Indeed, it was South Africa that had the last laugh, with their fans recasting the title lyric to “Rassie” when the Boks went on to lift the title, though the Irish did bite back by winning the last encounter between these sides 25-24 in a cliff-hanger in Durban last year.
This then, is not just a match carrying ranking points; it’s a shot at redemption for the Green and Gold. South Africa have not tasted victory in the Irish capital since 2012, with their last visit to the Aviva Stadium ending in a 19-16 defeat back in 2022.
Ireland vs. South Africa: Team News and Lineups
Andy Farrell has been forced into a few changes this week following injuries to Robbie Henshaw and Stuart McCloskey in their victory over Australia last time out. Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose have been brought into the starting 15 as replacements.
Mack Hansen stole the headlines against the Wallabies by bagging a hat-trick of tries, but it was Ryan Baird and skipper Caelin Doris who were the real heroes, combining to record 29 completed tackles with a 100% success rate.
Perhaps the most intriguing battle in this match will be at fly-half, where Farrell has handed the reins to Sam Pendergast, and he will be going up against Sacha Feinberg-Mngommezulu, who is widely considered to be the best number 10 in world rugby at the moment.
Lood de Jager was the recipient of a somewhat unfortunate red card last week against Italy, and Franco Mostert was sent off in the match against France a week earlier, which has led to Rassie Erasmus calling up Ruan Nortje to fill the void at lock.
Kurt-Lee Arendse has been replaced by Canan Moodie on the wing after suffering a concussion in Turin, and Moodie will complete a dynamic back three that features last week’s Player of the Match Damian Willemse and the little dynamo Cheslin Kolbe.
Given that these two sides’ greatest strengths come from physicality, Erasmus has selected an experienced pack, with Boan Venter, Malcolm Marx and Thomas du Toit in the front row, while Siya Kolisi, Jasper Wiese and Pieter-Steph du Toit join Nortje in the second row.
Ireland Squad vs. South Africa:
Ireland: 15 Mack Hansen, 14 Tommy O’Brien, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park; 1 Andrew Porter, 2 Dan Sheehan, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 4 James Ryan, 5 Tadhg Beirne, 6 Ryan Baird, 7 Josh van der Flier, 8 Caelan Doris (C).
Replacements: 16 Ronan Kelleher, 17 Paddy McCarthy, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 Cian Prendergast, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Craig Casey, 22 Jack Crowley, 23 Tom Farrell
South Africa Squad vs. Ireland:
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; 1 Boan Venter, 2 Malcolm Marx, 3 Thomas du Toit, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 5 Ruan Nortje, 6 Siya Kolisi (C), 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 8 Jasper Wiese.
Replacements: 16 Johan Grobbelaar, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Andre Esterhuizen, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Manie Libbok
Ireland vs. South Africa - Match details:
Date: Saturday, November 22
Time: 17:40 GMT (19:40 SAST)
Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Live Coverage: TNT Sports UK, SuperSport (RSA), or via our rugby livescores
Referee: Matthew Carley (RFU)
Assistant referees: Karl Dickson (RFU), Christophe Ridley (RFU)
TMO: Andrew Jackson (RFU)
