Ireland believe Springboks’ physicality ‘not the only string to their bow’

Ireland back-row Caelan Doris believes the Springboks offer more than just a physical threat despite that being a cornerstone of their game.

This weekend serves up one of the biggest clashes in this Rugby World Cup so far as the top-ranked side faces the defending champions at Stade de France on Saturday.

In typical fashion, the Springboks have named their line-up for the massive Test early and have opted to select the controversial 7-1 split on the bench in a high-risk/high-reward approach.

🇿🇦 THE SPRINGBOKS HAVE NAMED A 7-1 SPLIT ON THE BENCH TO FACE IRELAND! #RWC2023 #RSAvIRE #RSA pic.twitter.com/giNjBPrJ1O

— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) September 19, 2023

Offer much more

By opting for that selection route it is clear South Africa wants to bully Ireland out of the game. Doris recalls how “shocked” he was at the size of the team when he faced them in November. The tireless forward knows how physical they can be but insists that the side offers more than just that.

“I remember being shocked at just the sheer size of them, playing them in November,” Doris said.

“They kind of do a six-two or even seven-one sometimes off the bench and have massive reinforcements coming off the bench as well.

“But it’s definitely not the only string to their bow. They’ve got a lot of pace in their backs and their forwards are capable of keeping the ball alive and offloading.

“Obviously the physicality is tied into their set-piece, they’ve got a great maul, great lineout options as well, a very strong lineout and scrum as well, so getting those areas right is going to be big.”

Stick to the plan

With such a bold team selection from their opponents, the immediate thought would be whether Ireland chooses to respond or play their game. In Doris’s mind, it is all about continuing their work which has resulted in 15 wins on the bounce in Test rugby.

“It doesn’t actually change too much,” he said.

“We talk about delivering an 80-minute performance regardless of who we are playing and knowing that some teams target the last 20 minutes.

“We also speak of our bench coming on and not just fitting in but actually taking it up a level. That will be important for us this weekend.”

Despite so much success in recent seasons, Doris insists the team is always focused on improving and getting better, with this weekend the perfect occasion to showcase that.

“There’s so much belief amongst this group and there’s belief that we can still get a lot better,” he added.

“Delivering that in such a big game in Paris in front of 80,000 people – hopefully there will be a lot of Irish there – is just about constantly getting better as a group and believing that we can improve quite a bit.

“We are always striving for the perfect performance.”

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