Former Ireland star Gordon D’Arcy has his fingers crossed that his countrymen will be able to put up a fight against the back-to-back world champion Springboks in July.
The Boks kick off the 2024 season on Saturday, 22 June against Wales in London before returning home for a two-Test series against the Irish on 6 and 13 July, in Pretoria and Durban respectively.
Despite falling short of a Grand Slam, Ireland stood tall as the reigning Six Nations champions and with a blend of grit and panache, Andy Farrell’s charges claimed back-to-back championships for the third time in their history.
But, speaking in a recent Vodacom URC round table, D’Arcy suggested the second-highest ranked team on the planet might not have enough left in the tank to lock horns with the Webb Ellis Cup title-holders in the Republic.
“The season started to tell a little bit for Ireland towards the end of that Six Nations,” the 82-Test centre told reporters.
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“‘Tired’ is probably the wrong word but there are a lot of the same players playing in a lot of the same matches. With a couple of injuries and another round or two in the Six Nations, they might not have had the legs to keep going.
“I think Ireland will be tired coming down to South Africa. That said, I think there will be a couple of bodies coming back in and a couple of new faces added to that squad and we have two brilliant coaching tickets.”
Ireland beat South Africa in an intense 2023 Rugby World Cup pool-stage clash in France, before Farrell’s men exited in the quarter-finals while Rassie Erasmus’ troops marched on to glory.
It sets the stage for a blockbuster rematch between the world’s top two sides in three months’ time, and D’Arcy added, “What I loved about the South African [World Cup title] win was that they didn’t let a group match derail them and I just thought the resilience they showed to come back was fantastic.
“It is the people’s favourite against the actual favourite. It is the people’s champions against the actual champions. I’m joking, but it’s going to be a fantastic series.
“It is the pick of the [July] Tests for me and I just hope Ireland will give a good account of themselves.
“We know how much travel takes out of teams on the road, being away from home after a long season, and you guys [South Africa] are getting started, but it certainly won’t disappoint.”
Photo: Christophe Petit Tesson/EPA