Siya Kolisi and Marco van Staden. (Anesh Debiky/Gallo Images)
Having effectively picked three openside flankers in their matchday 23, the Springboks will clearly be targeting Ireland’s breakdown in Saturday’s opening match of the two-Test series at Loftus Versfeld as one of the means of stopping them at the source.
Bok head coach Rassie Erasmus has named Siya Kolisi as the starting openside flank, habitual fetcher Kwagga Smith at number eight, and another career number six in Marco van Staden on the bench. And if you want to lay it on a bit thick, the prospect of hooker Malcolm Marx also trundling on as a replacement should continue to pose a nuisance for the visitors at ruck time.
Put a little simplistically, the easiest way – if there is such a thing – to stop Ireland rendering your players 15 piggies in the middle, with the passing carousel that is their game, is to give them the obligatory trouble at set piece, swim in and among them defensively to prevent them getting into the rhythm, which can see you looking at the wrong end of 20 phases, and slowing down their ruck ball to the point where it’s effectively shop-soiled goods.
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