Ruan Pienaar warns Boks about Irish: ‘They like tempo and momentum’

Former Springbok scrumhalf Ruan Pienaar has warned the Springboks about the dangers Ireland present ahead of their Pool B showdown in Paris on Saturday.

Pienaar is something of a cult hero in the city of Belfast in Ireland after spending close to seven years of his illustrious career playing for Ulster. During his spell there, the Irish Rugby Football Union put plans in place to make the national team more competitive on the global stage.

Ireland have risen to number one in the world and are arguably at the peak of their powers at the 2023 Rugby World Cup. They have won the Six Nations Grand Slam twice in the last five years.

Consistency

Speaking to The Citizen this week, Pienaar elaborated on what has helped make Ireland the excellent Test team they are today.

“For the last number of years, they have been consistent in their performances … they have turned over most of the top teams in the world. They have beaten the All Blacks, South Africa and Australia,” Pienaar said.

“They have created a culture where they know they can beat big teams. They play with an extremely quick tempo, and if you can’t stop that it’s difficult to defend against them.

“Here at the Cheetahs, we played against their emerging team last year, and they played a similar game. Once they hit momentum it’s difficult to stop them,” he said.

‘Game of the tournament’

The two nations are battling it out for the top spot in Pool B, after both won their opening two games.

“I’m excited about the match, I think it has got the potential to be the game of the tournament,” said Pienaar.

“We have got a good team, we have started to play some nice rugby, and the nice thing is we are not a one-trick pony, we are playing a nice expansive game.

“I think Manie Libbok has brought something different to the team, we have got Cheslin Kolbe, Kurt-Lee Arendse, and Damian Willemse who are all incredible, they have incredible feet and are difficult to stop,” Pienaar said.

Sexton threat

The Cheetahs scrumhalf believes Ireland will be tested by the Springboks’ defence, due to its structure and the plans they’ll have in place for their talisman, Johnny Sexton.

“It’s going to be interesting to see how Ireland goes about it; I don’t think there’s any team that’s got defensive structures like we do. We come off the line very hard, I think it will put Johnny Sexton under a lot of pressure,” he said.

“In saying that, I know teams go after him, and he finds a way to play good rugby.

“It’s two coaching teams that will have a lot of tricks up their sleeves, but also lots of good planning. It should be a great match,” said Pienaar, who played 88 Tests for the Boks.