Springboks looking to bring the physicality against Ireland, says Cheslin Kolbe

Springbok wing Cheslin Kolbe says their previous defeats to Ireland are in the past and that the team are focused on producing the goods this weekend when they kick off their Incoming Series at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday (5pm).

The Boks have lost their last three games against the Irish, including in Dublin in 2022 and in the group stages of last year’s World Cup, which Kolbe admitted they took plenty of lessons from.

However, with the Boks back on home soil against them for the first since 2016, they will be eager to break that streak and they will be looking to bring their physicality to do that.

“We weren’t clinical and didn’t take our opportunities and at Test level you have to capitalise and make the most of those chances,” explained Kolbe about the loss at the World Cup.

“Looking back, there were a lot of learnings we took from that game. It brought us back down to earth during the World Cup.

“But that’s history. Our focus is now on this weekend’s game. There are a few other players getting an opportunity, and as a team we want to bring the physicality, back ourselves, and enjoy the occasion.”

Despite missing the experience and skill of Damian Willemse for the series, there is still plenty of competition in the back three, with Willie le Roux, Kolbe and Kurt-Lee Arendse picked to start.

Healthy competition

Makazole Mapimpi and Edwill van der Merwe were unlucky to miss out on selection after solid showings against Wales two weeks ago, while Canan Moodie, who is recovering from an injury, will be fit for the second Test, and Kolbe believes this competition is very healthy.

“It (competition) pushes everyone in the group to step up a little bit more, and the nice thing about it is that it doesn’t matter who plays on the weekend. We want that player to be confident and we boost him throughout the week,” said Kolbe.

“So we are always trying to learn from each other. There are no egos and whoever gets the opportunity to wear the green and gold jersey is more than willing to do a good job.”

Although they are playing on the Highveld, Kolbe doesn’t believe that they can bank on that assisting them against Ireland, and that they just have to focus on themselves and executing their game plan on the day.

“When I got back from Japan it took time to get used to the altitude, but we’ve been here for a few weeks now and Ireland have also been here for a few days, so we cannot count on that,” said Kolbe.

“We need to go out there and implement what we’ve been working on this week and be accurate in our execution. It’s certainly not a case of us taking the field and banking on a victory. We need to play good rugby and be effective in what we do.”