TV details, kick-off time and team news – The Irish Times

Who, what, where and when?

Ireland’s summer tour is to South Africa, home of the World Cup champions. The first Test is on Saturday 6 July with kick-off at 16:00 (Irish time).

The match will be played at a high level at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria.

Can I watch?

It can be done, but not as easily as the Six Nations or November Internationals. The summer games are not on free-to-air TV, meaning RTÉ and Virgin are out of the running.

Sky Sports will be doing the honours this weekend, with coverage starting at 3.30pm. If you don’t have a Sky subscription, a NowTV pass might help.

In addition to the availability of television coverage, The Irish Times will have a live blog starting two hours before kick-off.

Adam Foy – the Belvo boy with a Super Rugby medal

What should you pay attention to?

For some bizarre reason, this series has had the kind of trash talk-laden build-up you don’t normally see in rugby. Not that it’s necessarily a bad thing.

There have been jabs from both sides, from inside and outside the camp. Springbok lock Eben Etzebeth accused Ireland of disrespect after they beat South Africa in the World Cup, by saying “see you in the final” during full-time handshakes. Etzebeth accused Ireland of arrogance, by ignoring the fact that they still had to play New Zealand.

( View from South Africa: Boks look bragging in opening Test against Ireland )

Simon Zebo of all people has weighed in and said that South Africa coach Rassie Erasmus “hates” Ireland. “Let’s spice it up a bit” was Erasmus’ response when Zebo contacted him to apologise.

Those who watched Chasing the Sun, the documentary that followed South Africa’s latest World Cup bid, will know that they are fond of the old-fashioned tactic of pinning negative media commentary to the dressing room wall. They clearly find plenty of material in the Irish media. And that’s our fault, I suppose?

Team news

Andy Farrell has handed Jamie Osborne his Test debut for Saturday’s clash against South Africa at Loftus Versfeld (4pm Irish time). The 22-year-old Leinster utility back has been given the number 15 shirt in the absence of Hugo Keenan, who is preparing for the Paris Olympics with the Irish Sevens team.

Craig Casey, 25, has won the starting scrum-half job, making only his fifth start in winning his 15th cap. Conor Murray, who was on the bench for four of the five Six Nations games, is among the replacements. Casey started the match in Italy and is closer in style to the injured Jamison Gibson-Park in that energetic exuberance.

Robbie Henshaw is preferred over Garry Ringrose to partner Bundee Aki in midfield, with the latter sitting on the bench.

South African coach Rassie Erasmus named his 12-man starting squad for the 2023 Rugby World Cup finals on Tuesday morning. Only fullback Willie le Roux, number eight Kwagga Smith and prop Ox Nche did not start in the 12-11 win over New Zealand in the decider last October, despite all coming on as substitutes.

“This is the team that we believe will give us the boost we need against Ireland, who are the second highest ranked team in the world,” said Erasmus.

Erasmus have opted for a 6-2 split between forwards and full-backs on the bench, aided by the versatility of Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who can play at outhalf, centre and fullback, and Grant Williams, who is normally a scrumhalf but can also play on the wing.

South Africa: Willie le Roux; Cheslin Kolbe, Jesse Kriel, Damian de Allende, Kurt-Lee Arendse; Handre Pollard, Faf de Klerk; Ox Nche, Bongi Mbonambi, Frans Malherbe; Eben Etzebeth, Franco Mostert; Siya Kolisi (captain), Pieter-Steph du Toit, Kwagga Smith. Replacements: Malcolm Marx, Gerhard Steenekamp, ​​​​Vincent Koch, Salmaan Moerat, RG Snyman, Marco van Staden, Grant Williams, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.

Ireland: J Osborne (Leinster); C Nash (Munster), R Henshaw (Leinster), B Aki (Connacht), J Lowe (Leinster); J Crowley (Munster), C Casey (Munster); A Porter (Leinster), D Sheehan (Leinster), T Furlong (Leinster); T Beirne (Munster), J McCarthy (Leinster); P O’Mahony (Munster, captain), J van der Flier (Leinster), C Doris (Leinster). Replacements: R Kelleher (Leinster), C Healy (Leinster), F Bealham (Leinster), J Ryan (Leinster), R Baird (Leinster), C Murray (Munster), C Frawley (Leinster) G Ringrose (Leinster).