Thomas du Toit and Grant Williams do not see the Ireland clash as a decider after last year's drawn series.
The Springboks insist they do not see Saturday night’s Test against Ireland as a grudge match or a decider for last year’s drawn series in South Africa.
Instead, they are approaching it as they have every match this season – in isolation from outside noise.
The teams clash at 7.30pm in Dublin for the first time since their series in July 2024, when the Boks won 27-20 at Loftus before losing 25-24 at Kings Park.
Springbok prop Thomas du Toit and scrumhalf Grant Williams told media on Tuesday that they were considering their fourth end-of-year tour game as a standalone.
‘They know who they want to target’
“I don’t think the team feels [that it’s a grudge match] but we are definitely putting a massive emphasis on this week, like we’ve done for every week,” Du Toit said.
“What we have done well the last couple of months, the two competitions (Rugby Championship and end-of-year tour), we’ve really taken every match and put it in an individual box, and not think about the past too much.
“Whether we came off a good or bad week before, we’ve tried to put the match in its own box and focus as much as we can on it.”
Du Toit did, however, say he expected the Ireland Test to be similar to their 32-14 win over Italy last week and their 32-17 victory over France the week before, in that it would also be extremely physical.
“The one thing that might be different is it being a more structured game. And structure within structure.”
The Springbok prop said his time playing for Bath in Europe showed him that the Irish players understood their game well.
“They understand their general play and set-piece plays. The players understand it a couple of phases ahead. They know who they want to target, so that will be different. But it doesn’t really change anything for us. We do our homework as best we can and adapt on the day.”
Williams vs Gibson-Park
Williams said the Boks “focus on every match the same”.
He added that, if selected, he looked forward to taking on Ireland and Leinster scrumhalf Jamison Gibson-Park.
“He’s up there with the best nines in the world,” Williams said.
“His influence on the game is really good. If I get selected, that would be a good battle.”
