Ireland star on Boks: 'I remember being shocked at just the sheer size of them'

20/09/2023 08:34

SPOTLIGHT: Irish loose forward Caelan Doris says he is confident Ireland's attack can inflict serious damage on defending champions South Africa if they match them for physicality in their World Cup Pool B match on Saturday.

The 25-year-old said he and his teammates were prepared for the cauldron of the Stade de France and the 80 000 spectators, their confidence bolstered by having beaten the Springboks last November in Dublin.

Doris concedes their opponents, who have revealed a seven-one bench split between forwards and backs for the match, have "evolved quite a bit" since then but so too, he added, have the Irish, who are ranked No.1 in the world they secured the Six Nations Grand Slam in March and are now on a 15-match unbeaten run.

The run includes a 19-16 win over the Springboks in Dublin last November which Doris says has "definitely" given them confidence.

"I think looking back to the game [against the Springboks] we knew we had to be on it in terms of our defence, in terms of our physicality.

"That week in Dublin, we took a step up and we know we require the same this week.

"I think if we match them there, we've a lot of belief in what we can do in terms of our attack.

"We've shown some of that over the last couple of weeks but it's definitely a test."

Ireland's attack has certainly torn both Romania and Tonga to shreds, running in 20 tries with Doris creating one and scoring one in their 59-16 win over the Tongans last Saturday.

However, he is under no illusions the South Africans, also with two wins under their belt, will be nowhere near as generous as their previous opponents.

Doris was especially impressed by how they performed, both in offence and defence, when they inflicted a record 35-7 defeat on fellow three-time world champions New Zealand in a warm-up match last month.

He puts that performance largely down to one thing.

"Physicality is the word which springs to mind," he said.

"I remember being shocked at just the sheer size of them, playing them in November.

"The fact they kind of do a six-two (six forwards, two backs) or even seven-one sometimes off the bench and have massive reinforcements as well.

"Obviously the physicality is tied into their set-piece. They've got a great maul, a very strong line-out and scrum as well."

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