Springbok captain Kolisi: Beating Ireland will be tough if we don't have 15 players on the field

It says plenty about the officiating mess that has bedevilled the game of rugby when Springbok captain Siya Kolisi, on the eve of a mega match against Ireland, says that an express aim is to keep 15 players on the field.

The Boks have had backs-against-the-wall wins over France and Italy after losing a lock in each game to a dubious red card.

While the Boks will bank the precious experience they gained from grinding through adversity to the winner’s podium, fortitude probably will not suffice if they try to beat Ireland a man down.

Kolisi said exactly that at his captain’s press conference on the eve of the Dublin encounter.

“We know how difficult it is to play Ireland a man down. It happened when we were last here (in 2022 when Pieter-Steph du Toit was red-carded),” Kolisi said.

“Of course, we want to play with 15 men, and we have been working very hard since the beginning of the season on all the controls required to stay on the right side of the law, from level changing, wrapping, and so on. We have been practicing that over and over,” the exasperated captain said.

Last week, when Franco Mostert was sent off, Kolisi battled to keep a civil tongue when talking to out-of-his-depth referee James Doleman.

“The one thing about us is that we are an aggressive team, and we can’t move away from that. That is why we work so hard on the laws to try and stay on the field,” the skipper continued.

“We are going to need everyone in this game. Ireland are a strong team, which is why we have struggled for so many years to win here,” he said.

“Also, it is about taking every opportunity. In the games that we have lost by a few points to Ireland, we have squandered opportunities, so we have learned a lot from our previous games. We have worked very hard this week on being clinical.”

Kolisi did not skirt the issue of how important a win in Dublin would be to a team that has won just about everything in rugby bar a match at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium.

“It is a very important game, everybody knows that, so we know we have to be at our very best and take every opportunity that arises,” he said.

One of the key figures for the Boks will be their very own Viking, RG Snyman, who will earn his 50th cap for his country when he spearheads the Bomb Squad in the second half.

Snyman debuted for the Boks in 2018 but is only reaching 50 caps now because of catastrophic injuries.

He missed two and a half years of rugby because of two knee ACL ruptures and a sternum injury, while severe burns sustained when a Munster end-of-season bonfire party went badly wrong also sidelined him.

“I am so happy for RG after everything he has been through,” Kolisi said. “He could have given up any time. I give credit to all the unions that looked after him and stuck with him, and helped him get through his injuries.

“He had a difficult time during Covid, but he got through it,” Kolisi continued. “Even when he was not with the group, he was messaging us support. He wanted to be with us.

“And when he did come back, we could see what it meant to him. I’m grateful and happy for him to reach this milestone after not playing international rugby for two years. He kept on fighting.”

Kolisi paid tribute to Snyman’s incredible on-field skills.

“He does things on the field that other players can’t. He is one of the most talented guys in this group. I love how he has taken to the aggressive side of things. He is a big human being and a hard man to bring down.

“The way he can offload in the game is special. I love that he is not shy to be who he is.

“It says a lot about him that he could have pushed to start this game, but he knows what this team is about, that the team comes first. I am happy for him and his family, and I hope we can make it special for him.”

Springboks XV

15 Damian Willemse, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Cheslin Kolbe, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Ruan Nortjé, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Boan Venter.

Replacements: 16 Johan Grobbelaar, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 André Esterhuizen, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Manie Libbok.

Ireland XV

15 Mack Hansen, 14 Tommy O’Brien, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris (captain), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Ryan Baird, 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 James Ryan, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter.

Replacements: 16 Rónan Kelleher, 17 Paddy McCarthy, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 Cian Prendergast, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Craig Casey, 22 Jack Crowley, 23 Tom Farrell.