Ireland will aim for another historic result – this time on the Highveld – as they seek a series win against the Springboks in the Johannesburg cauldron of Emirates Airline Park.
2016 SUMMER TOUR SECOND TEST: Saturday, June 18
SOUTH AFRICA v IRELAND, Emirates Airline Park, 5pm local time/4pm Irish time (live Sky Sports 1 HD/RTÉ Radio 1/IRFU Live Blog)
Team News: The Ireland coaches have made five changes to the team from the first Test and have included three uncapped players – Quinn Roux, Sean Reidy and Tiernan O’Halloran – for Saturday’s rematch with South Africa in Johannesburg.
Hooker Rory Best captains the side for the 11th time and is joined in the front row by Jack McGrath and Tadhg Furlong, who comes in for his first international start at tighthead, while Devin Toner is partnered in the second row by debutant Roux from Connacht.
Iain Henderson switches to the blindside flank, taking over from the suspended CJ Stander, and Rhys Ruddock comes in at openside for his first start since November 2014, with vice-captain Jamie Heaslip at number 8.
Conor Murray and Paddy Jackson are retained at half-back, while Robbie Henshaw is joined in the centre by Ulster’s Stuart Olding, who is set for his first start since his debut against the USA three years ago. Henshaw also made his international bow that night in Houston.
Craig Gilroy is introduced on the left wing for his eighth cap, making it an all-Ulster back-three alongside Andrew Trimble and full-back Jared Payne.
Reidy and O’Halloran are the two uncapped players on the bench and they are joined by Richardt Strauss, Dave Kilcoyne, Finlay Bealham, Donnacha Ryan, Kieran Marmion and Ian Madigan.
Meanwhile, South Africa head coach Allister Coetzee has made five changes to his matchday squad – four of them due to injury – as his side look to bounce back against Ireland.
The two changes in the starting line-up see Pieter-Steph du Toit and Elton Jantjies replace the injured Lood de Jager and Pat Lambie respectively, while the Emirates Lions duo of Franco Mostert and Ruan Combrinck are on the bench and could make their Test debuts at their home ground. In the final change, Morne Steyn is added to the bench as out-half cover.
Second row Jager sustained a calf injury during last week’s 26-20 loss to Ireland in Cape Town and although he finished the match and was able to participate in training on Monday, subsequent follow-up scans revealed he has suffered a calf strain. He was not considered for selection this week which means a start for du Toit alongside his DHL Stormers colleague Eben Etzebeth.
Jantjies takes over the out-half duties after Lambie was ruled out with concussion and will make his first start for the Boks at his home ground. The vastly experienced Steyn, who has 60 Tests to his name, is included on the bench after joining the squad on Monday.
The inclusion of du Toit in the side means a first appearance on the replacement bench for Mostert, who has so far this season caught the attention with numerous impressive Super Rugby performances at lock for the Emirates Lions.
In the only other change to the matchday panel, Combrinck gets the nod as the utility backline player. The Emirates Lions flyer has been in fine form for the Highveld franchise so far this season in Super Rugby. Mostert, Combrinck and reserve hooker Bongi Mbonambi are the three uncapped players on the bench.
SOUTH AFRICA: Willie le Roux (Cell C Sharks); JP Pietersen (Cell C Sharks), Lionel Mapoe (Emirates Lions), Damian de Allende (DHL Stormers), Lwazi Mvovo (Cell C Sharks); Elton Jantjies (Emirates Lions), Faf de Klerk (Emirates Lions); Tendai Mtawarira (Cell C Sharks), Adriaan Strauss (Vodacom Bulls) (capt), Frans Malherbe (DHL Stormers), Eben Etzebeth (DHL Stormers), Pieter-Steph du Toit (DHL Stormers), Francois Louw (Bath), Siya Kolisi (DHL Stormers), Duane Vermeulen (Toulon).
Replacements: Bongi Mbonambi (DHL Stormers), Trevor Nyakane (Vodacom Bulls), Julian Redelinghuys (Emirates Lions), Franco Mostert (Emirates Lions), Warren Whiteley (Emirates Lions), Rudy Paige (Vodacom Bulls), Morne Steyn (Stade Francais), Ruan Combrinck (Emirates Lions).
IRELAND: Jared Payne (Ulster); Andrew Trimble (Ballymena/Ulster), Robbie Henshaw (Buccaneers/Connacht), Stuart Olding (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster), Craig Gilroy (Bangor/Ulster); Paddy Jackson (Dungannon/Ulster), Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster); Jack McGrath (St. Mary’s College/Leinster), Rory Best (Banbridge/Ulster) (capt), Tadhg Furlong (Clontarf/Leinster), Devin Toner (Lansdowne/Leinster), Quinn Roux (Galwegians/Connacht), Iain Henderson (Ballynahinch/Ulster), Rhys Ruddock (St. Mary’s College/Leinster), Jamie Heaslip (Dublin University/Leinster).
Replacements: Richardt Strauss (Old Wesley/Leinster), Dave Kilcoyne (UL Bohemians/Munster), Finlay Bealham (Buccaneers/Connacht), Donnacha Ryan (Shannon/Munster), Sean Reidy (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster), Kieran Marmion (Corinthians/Connacht), Ian Madigan (Blackrock College/Leinster), Tiernan O’Halloran (Buccaneers/Connacht).
Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant Referees: Glen Jackson (New Zealand), Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
Television Match Official: Jim Yuille (Scotland)
Match Odds (Paddy Power): South Africa to win: 1/4; Draw: 30/1; Ireland to win: 3/1
Pre-Match Quotes: Rory Best (Ireland) – “I think motivation wise, it’s never an issue for us. I know if you talk to any international player, pulling on a Test jersey is special. We know, the same as last week, there’s an opportunity to create history here.
“We took a step forward last week in terms of being the first team to do it. Now, we have an opportunity to win a Test series which is unbelievably difficult to do. I think that’s probably the big driver this week. It’s gonna take a phenomenal performance to win here because there’s a reason why so few teams come here and win a Test series, and that’s because it’s hard to do.
“We know the Springboks aren’t going to hand history to us, we have to take it ourselves. That’s going to be the tough challenge and I suppose that’s the challenge that you’re up for.
“We know the Springboks are going to come out and they’re going to want to be better but we also want to make sure that in this next game that we improve our own performance. Look, there’s going to be a lot of intensity and a lot of ferocity in the first 10 minutes especially and we know that and we’re going to have to as prepared as we can for that, but I don’t think in terms of any psychological advantage.
“I think that we talked before the first game that we have beaten them before and that we know how to beat them. But knowing how to beat them and actually doing that are two different things.
“We take confidence from what we achieved last week but we know that this is a different track, a different match and I’m sure we’re going to face a different Springboks side as well.”
Adriaan Strauss (South Africa) – “We need to right the wrong but it’s not about taking revenge. It’s about our own standards. We have the ability to be better and have a much higher expectation of ourselves.
“I told the coach afterwards that we had let him down. Each player has his own way of dealing with defeat and I also told them after the game they need to get over it in the way they usually would.
“A loss like that needs to hurt, but then we need to forget it and look forward to the next game. We have had a good week’s preparation, dealt with the issues we needed to deal with and fix a couple of things.
“I expect the Irish to be physical, good at the breakdown area which is something we’ve worked hard on and in which we must improve. We need to ensure quick ball for the back-line to be dangerous.”
Pre-Match Links –
Tour Diary – Altitude And Joost
Tour Diary – Team Announcement 2
In Pics: Ireland Squad Training In Sandton
In Pics: Ireland Captain’s Run In Johannesburg
Head-To-Head: Ireland v South Africa
Recent Meetings –
2012: GUINNESS Series: Ireland 16 South Africa 12, Aviva Stadium
2014: GUINNESS Series: Ireland 29 South Africa 15, Aviva Stadium
2016: Summer Tour First Test: South Africa 20 Ireland 26, Newlands Stadium, Cape Town
Support Ireland on www.irishrugby.ie/facebook or search #ShouldertoShoulder or #RSAvIRE on www.twitter.com/irishrugby.
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