Ireland can take the spring out of the Boks’ step

Today is one of those days rugby fanatics relish as an autumn chill begins to bite and the November internationals get up and running, making the armchair seem even more appealing.

And with England taking on the All Blacks at Twickenham, Cardiff hosting Wales versus Australia and the Aviva Stadium lights switching on for this evening’s showdown between Ireland and South Africa, there are three pretty good reasons to come in from the cold and settle in for a feast of Test rugby as Europe’s best go head to head with the giants of the southern hemisphere.

Ireland’s World Cup kicks off 45 weeks from now when Joe Schmidt’s team begins its pool campaign at the Millennium Stadium against Canada but today’s meeting with the mighty Springboks should put some in mind of the tougher challenges that the Irish head coach will hope lie further down the road in the knockout stages of rugby’s showpiece tournament.