Saffa trio to get a little emo

Ireland's forward coach Simon Easterby has been impressed with Stander's leadership over the past three seasons and feels that the flank - along with Strauss and Roux - will have a bit of a point to prove on Saturday.

"CJ [Stander], along with Richardt [Strauss] and Quinn [Roux] will certainly be emotional on the day [of the match]. They are highly passionate about where they grew up but are also passionate about wearing the green jersey.

"You get the sense that they are very keen to show their country of birth what they are missing.

"CJ [Stander] has showed his form over the past three seasons with Munster and has been a real talisman for them. He plays with his heart on his sleeve and is a real leader," Easterby said at a media conference in Cape own.

Easterby was part of Ireland's 2004 squad that toured South Africa and understands the pressure if playing in a rugby-mad country, especially with a fairly young group of players.

"It's a massive challenge coming to a country that is hugely passionate about rugby. We have a really exciting crop of players and we will learn a lot about them in the next three weeks.

"Every team will travel without certain [key] players and we are no different. It allows us to view these players [on tour] closer, especially the ones we are not too familiar with.

"Players who have stood out in the Pro12 have been given a chance now and for me, that's great.

"It builds some depth and they can lay a marker down now, looking ahead towards 2019," he added.

Part of the pressure they will be under will be in the forwards, as the Springboks are known for employing a highly physical approach. However, that is something that Easterby does not fear, as he feels the Irish love an arm wrestle.

"There is a combination of things you need to do to win a Test match and one of those is to be physical as a team, if not out-muscle them. The other one is to play smart. A combination of those things are what's really important.

"I think we had a combination of those things in November 2014, but that was two years ago. We have to continually evolve and keep improving but certainly, our physicality needs to be up there on Saturday and we will need to play smart as well.

"Newlands is a great start for us because it has such a great atmosphere. You can either let that become an issue or you can allow it to help you grow and challenge the Springboks on their home ground.

"If we have that mindset and are a collective, then it makes our job far easier. You need to be in a really good space mentally to embrace the atmosphere and the conditions," he stated.

By Tauriq Ebrahim

@rugby365com