Former Ireland forward Alan Quinlan believes that the Springboks have two teams capable of beating \u2018anyone in the world\u2019.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
South Africa<\/a> 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<\/a> at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday to continue that run.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s Boks in 2017.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat Rassie Erasmus has done is just phenomenal\u201d<\/p>\n Since Erasmus\u2019 involvement, South Africa have won back-to-back Rugby World Cups and built incredible depth in the squad. So much so that Quinlan<\/a> believes that the Springboks head coach could field two matchday squads good enough to beat any Test team in the world.<\/p>\n \u201cThey deserve massive credit for winning back-to-back World Cups. What Rassie Erasmus has done is just phenomenal,\u201d the Munster legend told CasinoHawks<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s incredible\u00a0the\u00a0level\u00a0they\u2019re at,\u00a0the\u00a0detail, and\u00a0the\u00a0systems\u00a0they have in place now.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of that stuff behind the scenes is down to Erasmus \u2013 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\u2019s bearing fruit for them.<\/p>\n \u201cThey 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.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Simon Zebo addresses Eben Etzebeth\u2019s \u2018arrogant\u2019 Irish accusation and warns Ireland\u2019s style is suited to beat Springboks\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n Ex-Ireland forward revisits \u2018unsavoury\u2019 Eben Etzebeth accusations and explains why Sam Prendergast \u2018weakness\u2019 should see Jack Crowley start against the Springboks<\/a><\/p>\n Ireland-Springboks rivalry<\/p>\n The second rower claimed that several players remarked, \u2018See you in the final\u2019, 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.<\/p>\n \u201cTalking about being arrogant and stuff like that, I hadn\u2019t 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,\u201d Quinlan continued.<\/p>\n \u201cThat stick is always going to be\u00a0there to beat\u00a0them with, and we may never be in that situation again with that quality.<\/p>\n \u201cWe might be going in hopeful. I played in a couple of World Cups where it was, \u2018If we get X, Y, and Z right, we might have a chance of doing this, this, and this\u2019.<\/p>\n