Loftus URC semifinal is the appetiser for a Test feast against Ireland

In three weeks’ time, Loftus Versfeld will be overrun by two sets of fans wearing different shades of green.

The stands will ring out with two different versions of “Zombie”. The Cranberries hit has become one of Irish rugby’s unofficial anthems, and since the 2023 World Cup, has been appropriated and reworded by Springbok supporters to pay tribute to the double World Cup-winning coach Rassie Erasmus.

In three weeks’ time, the Boks and Ireland will meet in a fight for rugby supremacy.

Consider the statement provided by Damian de Allende in a wide-ranging interview with RugbyPass TV two weeks ago.

“That first game against Ireland at Loftus, whether I play or not, it is just going to feel almost like a war,” the Bok centre said.

“A lot of people give them credit for being No 1 in the world because they play such good footy but that’s going to be a flippin’ incredible battle.

“We lost to them in 2017 when they beat us 38-3 [in Dublin]. The way the [Irish] media spoke, they completely disrespected us.

“For us as Springboks, it is about getting respect back, not their respect, but our own respect. We don’t need to, but we really want to beat Ireland.”

Consistency versus big-match temperament

Ireland have been the most consistent side in world rugby over the past four years, winning two Six Nations titles and claiming a historic win against the All Blacks on New Zealand soil.

In the lead-up to the 2023 World Cup quarterfinal against the All Blacks, Andy Farrell’s side won 17 consecutive matches. That run included a 19-16 win over the Boks in 2022, as well as a 13-8 victory against South Africa in an epic World Cup pool match.

Ireland went on to lose, though, to the All Blacks in the quarterfinals. The Boks peaked at the right time, beating France, England and New Zealand en route to a record-breaking fourth World Cup title.

In the aftermath, many highlighted the contrasting strengths and weaknesses of the two sides.

While consistent in the buildup, Ireland have never progressed beyond the quarterfinal stage of the global competition. The Boks tend to fluctuate between World Cups, before delivering their sharpest performances at the tournament that matters most.

While the 2023 final was contested by the Boks and All Blacks, many fans and pundits in the northern hemisphere believe that the two pre-tournament favourites, France and Ireland, should have featured in the decider.

This sentiment was expressed many times in the lead-up to the opening game of the 2024 Six Nations — between France and Ireland — which was eventually dubbed “the World Cup final everyone wanted”.

The Boks may occupy first place in the World Rugby rankings, but in the minds of many up north, Ireland are still the leading side, and will travel to South Africa next month as favourites.

Eben Etzebeth of South Africa fumbles a lineout during the Rugby World Cup France 2023 match against Ireland at Stade de France in Paris, France. 23 September 2023. (Photo: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

Two sets of champs

Former Ireland centre Gordon D’Arcy recently described the two-match series as a battle between “the people’s champions and the actual world champions”.

While D’Arcy’s subsequently admitted that the comment was made in jest, he was playing to an audience that largely believes that the ‘wrong’ team won the World Cup.

And the sentiment hasn’t been lost on the South African rugby community.

“There's been a lot of talk about Ireland deserving to win the World Cup… We’ll see in July,” Bok winger Cheslin Kolbe told News24 recently.

Earlier this year, Eben Etzebeth spoke about the ‘arrogance’ of the Ireland team in the wake of that result in Paris last October.

While shaking hands with the Boks after the game, the players told their South African counterparts that they’d “see them in the final”.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Boks face low road after Ireland win a thriller in Paris to underline favourites status

This attitude was alluded to in the recent De Allende interview, although the Bok centre focused more on the comments made by the Irish media.

De Allende went out of his way to talk up Ireland’s world-class players, and the challenge of facing them in the double-header on South African soil.

Eben Etzebeth of the Boks during the Rugby World Cup 2023 match against Ireland at Stade de France in Paris, France. 23 September 2023. (Photo: Steve Haag/Gallo Images)

Rivalry primed to explode

Still, the rivalry between South Africa and Ireland has been growing — some might say simmering — since the local franchises joined the United Rugby Championship (URC) in 2021.

The Bulls turned the tournament on its head when they beat Leinster in Dublin in the 2022 semifinals, a result that paved the way for an all-South African final.

There was an edge around the next final at Cape Town Stadium, and on that occasion, it was the Stormers rather than the travelling Munster side that paid for their overconfidence.

More recently, the same Munster team claimed a statement win against the Bulls at Loftus. If they win the coming semifinal against Glasgow Warriors, they will host the decider at Thomond Park in Limerick.

Leinster have described themselves as underdogs ahead of the semifinal at Loftus, even though they have arrived with a clutch of Test players in tow.

In the past, they have toured South African without their star players, in order to save their best personnel for the Champions Cup playoffs staged in Europe. They employed this strategy again this season, and lost to Toulouse in extra time of the Champions Cup final.

That result may spur them on in the coming URC semifinal, and in a potential final. The Ireland players will also want to land a psychological blow at one of the strongholds of South African rugby before the national team plays there next month.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Pesky Saffas are in European club rugby to stay, despite grumbles from the North

The Irish media is expecting Leinster to succeed this weekend and set up an all-Irish final.

“If Leinster lose to the Bulls, it’s a big, big failure on their part,” former Ireland hooker Bernard Jackman told The42, the popular Irish sports website.

“The Bulls aren’t all that,” Jackman added. “Munster have gone down there and beat them. Benetton made them look very average [in the recent quarterfinal], there’s too many flaws in their performance. I haven’t been overly impressed by them.

“Look, Leinster have to build it up as being an incredible expedition to get to Pretoria and the challenge of getting back, but I think there’s no excuse here.

“You have the best team in the URC on paper, you have the most internationals and you’ve been able to rest them during the year as best you can, so there’s no distractions.”

Akker van der Merwe of the Bulls during the URC match against Benetton Rugby at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria, South Africa. 8 June 2024. (Photo: Lee Warren/Gallo Images)

Win-win situation for Boks

A Leinster win at Loftus could work to the Boks’ advantage.

In that scenario, a host of Bulls players will be released to the Boks, and will be considered for the first Test of the season against Wales — which will be played on the same day as the URC final.

With more time in the Bok camp, those players will enjoy further opportunities to prepare for the all-important two-match series against Ireland.

A win for the Bulls would be ideal, though, as it would ensure that a South African team qualifies for the URC final for the third successive season.

In the wake of that potential result, the Irish media will have cause to revisit Leinster’s — and by extension Ireland’s — terrible record in big playoff matches over the past few years.

Brace yourselves, because the noise around the Ireland-South Africa rivalry and the upcoming Tests is only going to get louder over the next few weeks. DM