There hasn't been much separating the teams in their last few meetings.
The Springboks might be world champions and in good form, but Ireland will be the big favourites to end the tourists’ unbeaten run on their northern hemisphere tour this month when the teams clash at Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Saturday night.
The reality is that Ireland will go into the game having won four of the last five meetings between the teams while the Boks have not won in Dublin on their last three visits there, going back to 2014.
Overall, the Boks have dominated against Ireland, going back to their first meeting in 1906, but things have been very different in recent times.
In fact, Bok coach Rassie Erasmus, who has tasted success against every other Test country his side have played against away from home since 2018, is still looking for his first win with the Boks in Ireland.
South Africa have won nine of the 17 matches played against Ireland in Ireland, with one draw and seven wins by the Irish. And the total points scored by the teams in these matches – 265 by the Boks and 254 by the Irish – indicates just how close the matches have been between the two sides.
In South Africa things have been quite different. The Boks have won 10 of 12 matches, with Ireland winning two. On neutral ground – at the 2023 World Cup in Paris – Ireland won 13-8.
But, back to the Boks’ record in Ireland.
You win some, you lose some
The Boks have played in Dublin 11 times since South Africa’s return to international sport in the 90s.
In their first two visits to Dublin following their return to Test rugby, the Boks won 27-13 (1998) and 28-18 (2000) at the old Lansdowne Road, but then Ireland hit back with three straight wins at home in their next Tests in Dublin.
In 2004, Ireland won 17-12 at Lansdowne Road, in 2006 they won 32-15, also at Lansdowne Road, and then in 2009 they won 15-10 at Croke Park.
The Boks then enjoyed a good run after Ireland moved to the new Aviva Stadium, with the SA side winning 23-21 in 2010 and 16-12 in 2012 – both extremely close affairs, and the last time the Boks would taste victory in Ireland.
The only current Bok who’ll play this weekend who featured in that win in 2012 is Eben Etzebeth. Duane Vermeulen, who’s currently part of the management team, was the No 8.
In their next clashes in Ireland, the home team would go on something of a run at the Aviva against the Boks, winning 29-15 in 2014, 38-3 in 2017, and 19-16 in 2022.
Ireland have also had the edge over the Boks in recent times, home and away.
Ireland have won four times in their last five matches against the Boks – 38-3 in Dublin in 2017, 19-16 in Dublin in 2022, 13-8 in Paris in 2023, and 25-24 in Durban last year.
The Boks’ only win against Ireland in this time was last year’s first Test between the teams in Pretoria, when the hosts won 27-20.