Former Ireland international CJ Stander feels Andy Farrell's side are getting up to speed after a sluggish start to the Autumn Nations Series, but he is "nervous" as to their prospects against his native South Africa tomorrow.
Ireland host the back-to-back world champions at Aviva Stadium (live on RTÉ2/Player from 4.30pm) having recovered from defeat to New Zealand with big wins over Japan and Australia.
But the visitors, who crushed Japan, then had 18 and 15 points to spare over Italy and France, respectively, are likely to pose a much sterner test.
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"I'm nervous," the 51-cap back row, who has spent the week catching up with friends in Limerick, told RTÉ Radio 1's Inside Sport.
"Looking at the Springbok team, a big side, physical, with a few big players on the bench as well.
"If you look at that France game, the first 15, 20 minutes was one of the best Test matches I've seen this year.
"I think they [Ireland] are just finding their feet and finding their way back into all the personalities, going back into the squad [after the Lions tour]. And you can see the way they play, they've freshened up.
"That team being picked with Josh [van der Flier] being back, going hard after that ball... I think Andy is [saying] 'let's go toe to toe' and see if it works.
"The top players, probably a little bit tired getting into these last few games. But the gel is coming back together for this big match."
Boks office smash – 📺Watch live coverage of Ireland v South Africa on @rte2 and @rteplayer from 4.30pm on Saturday. 📻Commentary on @RTERadio1 @SatSportRTE. 📱Match updates on the RTÉ News App. pic.twitter.com/iLcR2dyXEi
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) November 21, 2025
Ireland have become something of a bogey side for an otherwise triumphant South African outfit. The Boks have won just one of the last five meetings, losing 13-8 in the pool stages on their way to winning the 2023 World Cup, and to a late Ciarán Frawley drop-goal in the second Test in 2024. Their last victory in the Aviva came in 2012.
"When you look at the history, when the Springboks come to Dublin they tend to struggle a little bit for some reason," said Stander.
"I remember that game in Durban, when the drop-goal went over. I watched it with a lot of Springboks and they all were gutted. So yes, there is a rivalry.
"Yes, it's two different teams, on different tracks. But if I look at the Springboks squad, I think Rassie [Erasmus] really wants this. He went hard. He went with a physical side."
The aforementioned Erasmus ruffled a few feathers during the World Cup when he posted a clip of South African fans singing Zombie by the Cranberries, which had been adopted as an unofficial Irish fan anthem, with 'Rassie' in the chorus instead.
Always loved the song Zombie by the Cranberries and the Irish fans certainly embraced it during the RWC making it their own. It was great and intimidating. Our 🇿🇦 people gave them a damn good go 👏 Lekka 🇿🇦 pic.twitter.com/NW00nH9zey
— Johan Erasmus (@RassieRugby) October 18, 2023
His players also celebrated their World Cup final victory over New Zealand by serenading their coach to the same tune in the dresing-room.
Stander defended his one-time head coach at Munster, as not "the type of guy who's trying to be out there and get attention" but admitted "The Zombie thing doesn't really help".
"He's a guy who's got his heart on his sleeve. He calls you out and he calls stuff out and I think that creates box office. But he's just one of those guys who goes 'I'm just going to go and say what I want. And I want to get the best out of the player'.
"In fairness to him, he does get it right most of the time. If you look at the squad, there's a lot of players who are playing very good in the URC who are not playing in a Springbok squad. He's picking guys who want to perform, who struggle a little bit in general in life. People who want to perform, not just for themselves, for the team.
"And that's probably the biggest thing in that squad, there's no egos. If you win two World Cups, one World Cup, or just playing at the top level all the time and there's no egos, well, that's actually impressive."
Stander expects a tight contest but thinks Erasmus might just get that first win of his reign in Dublin.
"It's difficult to call, but I don't see it being a high-scoring game," he said. "I reckon this is going to come down to a drop-goal."
"The Springbok side is playing quite well at the moment. So, we, the Irish side, need to be on our best to win this game. But I think the Boks are going to pip this one."
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
