It's been the one all the fans have been waiting for. It’s been a gradual build-up if you could call New Zealand in the opening game a gradual start.
Look, performances have improved from there against Japan and Australia and we’re now playing not only the back-to-back world champions, but also the back-to-back Rugby Championship winners so South Africa, for me, are out on their own as the number one side in the world at the moment.
Particularly, given some of the young talent they’re bringing through, I can’t wait for this game.
[Regarding Same Prendergast starting] people need to cast their minds back to the last World Cup and the quarter-final against New Zealand, when 38-year-old Jonny Sexton was still on the field at the 80th minute. Jack Crowley was a young apprentice behind Jonny Sexton at that stage; people were critical after the World Cup that Andy Farrell didn’t build sufficient depth in that area.
I’ve always believed you need a minimum of two quality 10s and probably three. Just look at England at the moment, Fin Smith and Marcus Smith made the recent Lions tour yet Steve Borthwick has started George Ford in the big games and he does so again this weekend against Argentina.
I understand the debate, I thought Sam was excellent in so many aspects of his game last week – his kicking game was superb, his aerial bombs, his kick-passing into the wide channels.
Yes, he missed two bad tackles and it’s an area you’d have to be concerned about and I’d say in many respects, when Rassie Erasmus saw that Prendergast was going to start it’s without question an area they’re going to target.
But you’ve got to throw him in in these big games. On the flipside, I’ve known Jack Crowley since he was a young lad in Bandon Grammar and Jack has a winner’s mentality, I think you saw that when he came off the bench against Australia last week.
You need two young players champing at the bit, that’s what these games are all about.
That’s always the big question (living with the South Africa power). I must say, I think Rassie – and I got to know him a bit when he was here with Munster – is a brilliant innovator, he’s been building this South African squad. When you consider they’re all spread all over the world in various leagues, yet almost a second team played against Italy last week and won despite the fact they had Franco Mostert sent off after only 11 minutes.
There are only two changes from their team that beat France and that was the big game for them on this tour.
Their bench is massively strong; I’m thrilled that Ox Nche, their loosehead, is out because their scrum is a massive weapon.
That bench is phenomenal, you see the likes of Wilco Louw, RG Snyman, Kwagga Smith – they'd be on any team in the world.
That’s what I’d be worried about, the final quarter when these fellas are coming in. That’s normally when they just blow teams away and I think that’s going to be the big challenge for Ireland.
Ireland’s bench is not quite in that category and that could be the difference between the teams in the end.
The one thing about this game, Ireland have no inhibitions whatsoever about playing South Africa. We’ve won three of the last four, they haven’t won in Dublin since 2012 and we beat them at the last World Cup and they went on to win the World Cup.
There are no inhibitions from that point of view, but it’s the strength in depth. South Africa just wear you down, they use their scrum to generate penalties, that gives them field position and then they have an incredible lineout maul.
That’s their traditional strength, (but) it’s their backline at the moment, their attacking game is totally different.
You talk about the battle at 10 (for Ireland), just if people don’t know this guy – 22-year-old Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, people are already comparing him to Dan Carter. This guy is an outstanding player and you talk about depth at number 10, Handre Pollard doesn’t even make the bench for South Africa in that position tomorrow. He’s a back-to-back World Cup winner, Manie Libbok is covering out-half.
They are building depth in that area and it’s that depth at the end of the day that has them number one in the world.
Donal Lenihan was speaking to RTÉ Radio 1's Morning Ireland
Watch Ireland v South Africa in the Quilter Nations Series on Saturday from 4.30pm on RTÉ2 and the RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on the RTÉ News App and on rte.ie/sport. Listen to live commentary on RTÉ Radio 1
