Conor Murray has urged centres Robbie Henshaw and Jared Payne not to become "bogged down" by the pressure of following Brian O'Driscoll into Ireland's 13 shirt.
Kiwi boss Schmidt has confirmed Connacht's Henshaw and Ulster's Payne will battle it out to replace the now-retired O'Driscoll at outside centre.
Munster scrum-half Murray believes Henshaw and Payne will relish the challenge of putting their own stamp on a back-line O'Driscoll dominated for 15 years.
"There's been much talk of it, we had all that chat last year throughout the whole season, the long farewell," said Murray.
"We're pretty much used to that now and there are opportunities for lads to fill that famous jersey.
"There will be pressure on them, but they're going to have to be their own men, and not be too bogged down by the title of that jersey.
"It's something the public will talk about but within our squad we know the players we've got and what we're trying to do. So we're not going to dwell on that too much.
"I think they see it as an opportunity, they are two really good players and they bring a lot of different things to the table. They will be hugely influential if they do get a chance in there.
"They are going well in training, swapping in and out, so it's up to Joe who he gives the shirt to, but whoever gets it, I'm sure they'll do a great job."
"I think they see it as an opportunity, they are two really good players and they bring a lot of different things to the table"
Murray believes this Springboks side are a better outfit than the one who beat Ireland 16-12 on their last visit to Dublin, pointing to last month's Rugby Championship victory over the world champion All Blacks as evidence of progress.
Ireland's last win over South Africa came at Croke Park in 2009.
"They've improved over the last year definitely," Murray told RTÉ Sport.
"Along with the traditional strengths of a South African team, big strong physical men who are really powerful up front, they're also a lot more expansive.
"Especially with [Handre] Pollard at 10, I think they're more willing to run from deep and try more high-risk plays.
"They're a better team than when we played them a couple of years ago and during the Championship they definitely impressed.
Murray believes that Ireland's performance against the All Blacks last November, despite the heartbreaking nature of the defeat, has given them confidence that they can beat the Southern Hemisphere giants.
"That's a marker that we've put down now," he said. "We know we can do it. We lost that game in the last 30 seconds so that [gives] huge belief for us that we can go out there and perform against these teams.
"South Africa are in great form, they have really good players and this more expansive game, but we know that if we show up on the day and perform to our capabilities we have a chance of winning against any team."
