Easterby believes 'fabulous coach' Tony Brown has done 'brilliant job' of developing Springboks attack

Ireland face South Africa with a surge of confidence after their performance against Australia, but Simon Easterby knows the Springboks will reveal exactly where Andy Farrell’s side truly stand.

Former All Blacks 10 Tony Brown joined the South Africa coaching staff in early 2024. Pic: Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images

Whichever way you view the next visitors to Aviva Stadium, be it as back-to-back world champions, the best current team in Test rugby or simply perennial heavyweight rivals, South Africa offer Ireland the yardstick against which they will judge themselves when the international window shuts on Saturday night.

It is 16 months since Andy Farrell’s squad left Durban with a 1-1 series draw on South African soil, having secured a fourth victory in the last five meetings with the Springboks since 2017. A lot has happened since those 2024 matches, and that 25-24 second Test win at King’s Park secured by the drop goal heroics of Ciaran Frawley with the two sides arguably going their separate ways from that middle ground of equality.