RWC 2023 Ireland v South Africa Buildup - Sat 23rd Sep 20:00 Paris

There is a big difference between Smith being comfortable on the wing because he played 7s and having to play there for a significant portion of an international game against the world no.1. Having him on the wing will limit their kick case and he'd seriously struggle with positioning. There would be opportunities there to exploit, doubly so if Kolbe was also at FB.

I'd love to see Smith up against Hansen, his head would be wrecked as Hansen isn't on his wing half the time. It's one thing to defend on the wing when you just stand near the sideline and watch the opposite winger, completely different task if the wing keeps going infield and you don't know what to do.

Watching and reading all the previews of the game it seems it's all about South Africa. Maybe that's a good thing for Ireland. I get a patronising tone from pundits (especially from the southern hemisphere) regarding Ireland. They always refer to us as the worlds number 1 team but with an undertone of us just being custodians until the big boys restore the natural order.

Maybe the attitude is fair. We have never performed against a big team when under any expectations at a world cup. Apart from the heroics in 1991, we can point to the Australia win in 2011, but we were massive underdogs that day, so not under any real pressure. The only other win of note at a world cup was against a poor France team in 2015. Unfortunately this is our history at world cups. it is very grim reading.

Now is the time to step up and make a statement in my opinion. I believe we will win this game. I also think/hope that the 7/1 split will backfire on South Africa at some stage. I keep hearing about how great and versatile all the South African players are but there is no substitute for specialist positions. I see Kwagga being held up as a man that can play anywhere and the evidence for that is he played 7's. Now, come on. Playing 7's is like a totally different sport to potentially coming in on the wing or at centre in a World Cup against a good team.

Whilst sounding over simplified, all Ireland need to do is close to break even at the breakdown and set piece. Without that South Africa have shown nothing to make me believe they can win without sheer forward dominance (I know it has been enough thus far). I'm going over to the game and I am equally excited and unbelievably nervous. The one thing I want from Ireland though is to play to their potential. If they do that and lose to a better team then fair play. Too often in World Cups "good" Irish teams have completely capitulated and that would just be another disaster if that were to happen.

The Indo is reporting from Ireland pre-match press conference. Simon Easterby says Ireland most likely going with a 5/3 split for Saturday. It's the right call imo. We shouldn't change our plans just because South Africa are trying something different.

Jack Conan isn't available. Hopefully he's back for the Scotland game.

Exactly, there's no one on the bench who could break a game open if they're trailing.

Yeah I was thinking that, late on if I was chasing a score I’d want a fresh set of legs in the centre over in the second row

In Rugby, it's not a matter of This team is better than that team, so we should beat that team comfortably

it's about matchups.

Rock Paper Scissors. Some teams are just better at countering Ireland's strengths

The Springboks are a different type of team to that French team and are going big on size in the pack with speed on the outside

If SA can prevent Ireland from winning quick ball, and if they can handle our probing kicks along the tram lines, and if they can handle our lineout, then they'll be a very difficult team to beat

It may have already been mentioned here, but I don't think we should be overly concerned by South Africa loading their bench with forwards. They're going to be a massive physical threat, but Ireland will be prepared for it.

In the test match last November, Ireland were never comfortable against South Africa, but contained their threat well enough until Wille LeRoux was subbed in. After that Ireland couldn't just focus on the collision based aspects of South Africa's game, but also their playmaking. He changed the game and made them much more threatening. I think they're missing a step by not having him in the squad, even if he's been a bit iffy performance wise.