Paul O'Connell: Ireland will 'bring everything they've brought to the big occasion in the last few years'

The Ireland coach says Andy Farrell's side will have to bring their A-game to edge the Springboks in Paris.

FINE TUNING: Forwards coach Paul O'Connell during the Ireland rugby squad captain's run at the Stade de France in Saint Denis on Friday. Picture: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Paul O’Connell believes it will need a statement performance from Ireland to defeat South Africa at Stade de France on Saturday night but has backed his players’ experience in crunch games to win the World Cup Pool B showdown.

World number one and Six Nations Grand Slam winners Ireland are set to go toe to toe with the defending-champion and second-ranked Springboks in a hugely anticipated sell-out clash that could go a long way to determine both teams’ pathways through the knockout stages.

Despite Ireland’s 19-16 victory over their next opponents in Dublin last November and the body of work since, including an impressive brushing aside of Romania, 82-8, and Tonga, 59-16, in their opening pool matches, it is South Africa’s record 35-7 victory in pre-season over New Zealand at Twickenham last month that has laid down the marker of the 2019 champions’ credentials at France 2023 and Jacques Nienaber’s side go into Saturday’s game as slight favourites.

The Springboks overcame Scotland 18-3 in their opening pool tie on September 10 and then blanked Romania 76-0 last Sunday to solidify the perception they are one of the tournament favourites and Ireland’s forwards coach is demanding a top-notch effort in front of an estimated 30,000 Irish supporters at Stade de France.

"Ah, it's going to take a big performance for sure,” O’Connell said on Friday after the Ireland squad’s captain’s run training session at the stadium.

“They're an excellent side, they've been together a long time as a group, together a long time as a coaching group as well and they obviously understand how they want to play and how they want to deal with certain situations in the game.

"I think they've developed their game since the last World Cup and developed their game a lot since last Autumn in particular. So our boys are under no doubt about how big a challenge it is.” 

O’Connell, though has placed his faith in the Irish players' rugby intelligence to problem-solve on the run during what promises to be a high-intensity encounter.

"They obviously present a big physical challenge, I think we present a big physical challenge and they present a real technical challenge as well. They're a very smart side and that's one of the things you probably admire most about them, is the smarts they can bring along with their physicality.

"So I think it's a strength of our side as well, so we speak about this Irish team and what this Irish team stands for, I think they've got to bring everything they've brought to the big occasion they've been in in the last few years.

“We've had a Test series decider down in New Zealand in Wellington, we've had a Grand Slam decider, we've had a tough autumn series against some very tricky opposition and the boys have always found a way and figured it out. It's a real strength of theirs.

“They're going to have play super well tomorrow but they're also going to have to figure things out and it's something I really enjoy watching them do when they have a challenge in front of them, how they manage to figure it out as a group and they're going to have to do that at the weekend.” Ireland trained with all 33 players on pitch as heavy rain fell on Stade de France and wing Mack Hansen said he was looking forward to an occasion at the ground where he scored his first international try against France in spectacular fashion during the 2022 Six Nations, collecting a Joey Carbery restart and racing over the try line to catch the French napping.

“It's great. This is kind of what we've been working for, for the last three years I've been in here and the four years for the lads who have been under this coaching staff as well,” Hansen said.

"So we're super-excited for it. It's a big step up from the previous games that we've had but it's everything we've been working for this whole time.

“It’s probably everything you dream of when growing up, these kind of games. You don’t know if it’s ever going to happen. For something like this to finally come around, playing in the World Cup against the defending champions is something you’d always hope to be involved in and to get this opportunity to play in this outstanding team, it’s super special and a few nerves here and there.

“That’s kind of what it’s all about. Rugby is made for these sort of games, to be involved in it is incredibly and pretty special to be playing alongside players like Josh and Johnny, some guys in their third or fourth World Cup, yeah very special.”