Former Ireland forward Alan Quinlan believes that the Springboks have two teams capable of beating ‘anyone in the world’.
Rassie Erasmus used 50 players in Test matches last year and is closing in on that number in 2025 while still managing to win back-to-back Rugby Championships, beating the All Blacks three out of four times during that period.
South Africa also went unbeaten last November, winning all three of their fixtures, and they are currently on track to go unbeaten again. Three matches have been won so far this month but now need to beat Ireland at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday to continue that run.
The Boks last tasted victory over Ireland in Dublin back in 2012, securing a narrow 16-12 win. The hosts have won the subsequent three Aviva Stadium meetings since then, including a comprehensive 38-3 victory over Allister Coetzee’s Boks in 2017.
While not involved with the Springboks then, Erasmus was employed by Munster and that loss proved to be a pivotal one as he was in attendance with Jacques Nienaber. The pair soon opted to return to South Africa in a bid to turn things around for the Boks.
“What Rassie Erasmus has done is just phenomenal”
Since Erasmus’ involvement, South Africa have won back-to-back Rugby World Cups and built incredible depth in the squad. So much so that Quinlan believes that the Springboks head coach could field two matchday squads good enough to beat any Test team in the world.
“They deserve massive credit for winning back-to-back World Cups. What Rassie Erasmus has done is just phenomenal,” the Munster legend told CasinoHawks. “It’s incredible the level they’re at, the detail, and the systems they have in place now.
“A lot of that stuff behind the scenes is down to Erasmus – it comes alive in camps, not just their own camps, but all the way down into the age groups. Rugby in South Africa, their player identification, the different programmes that players are on, and it’s bearing fruit for them.
“They definitely have two sides that can beat anyone in the world, and probably a third-string side as well. The rivalry is just down to Ireland beating them a few times.”
South African teams joining the United Rugby Championship has also added spice to the rivalry, with two of the finals since their addition being played between teams from the respective countries.
Springboks lock Eben Etzebeth stoked the fire when he accused Ireland players of being arrogant at the 2023 Rugby World Cup after the Irish beat South Africa during the pool stages.
Ireland-Springboks rivalry
The second rower claimed that several players remarked, ‘See you in the final’, which he saw as smug considering that they would need to face the All Blacks in the quarter-finals, a stage Ireland have never progressed past.
“Talking about being arrogant and stuff like that, I hadn’t seen it. We were in dreamland going to that World Cup of hope and it was the best-ever Irish side that ultimately lost in the quarter-final again,” Quinlan continued.
“That stick is always going to be there to beat them with, and we may never be in that situation again with that quality.
“We might be going in hopeful. I played in a couple of World Cups where it was, ‘If we get X, Y, and Z right, we might have a chance of doing this, this, and this’.
“That second Test in Durban (in 2024), as well as the World Cup match, was a big win for Ireland. That was a statement win to say, essentially, ‘You’re beating the world champions in an iconic ground away from home’.
“So, it has just grown and then the presence of social media means many people are having an opinion and stuff like that. I’m sure the players respect each other and they’ll have a beer with each other on Saturday night afterwards.
“RG Snyman plays with Leinster and played with Munster – he loves it here. He’ll have many friends in the opposition team, but there’s a ruthless edge to South Africa when they put on that Springbok jersey.
“In broader terms, and I’m not sure of the exact reason, I don’t think there’s been any bad incidents on the field. I just think it’s a rivalry born out of Ireland being pretty good the last number of years and they caused South Africa some problems. They just have this drive to win every game and it stemmed a little bit from that.”