Thick-skinned and fearless, Kajsa Norman goes behind the lines in Afrikanerdom, where she finds a racist, cultish and tribal people but, as Josephine Fenton discovers, she also finds some hope for a dying race

The visitors hold all the aces in terms of recent form, preparation, settled combinations and the confidence that stems from beating New Zealand last time out.

Meyer couldn’t help but laugh when asked if he is viewed as a risk-taker back home. His response was that the perception is actually very different.

WITH Irish rugby’s finest already safely ensconced in base camp in picturesque Cape Town, thoughts of an historic first test victory on South African soil are closer to reality than ever before.