The sheer physicality of South Africans poses a monumental peril against last World Cup’s best team, Ireland, and this weekend, the two giants of Pool B will clash against each other to decide who will reign supreme in Pool B.
Even though South Africans have filled themselves with some of the most elite players who know how to use their size and speed to their advantage, their back possesses an entirely different kind of threat that lacks size but makes up for it through their mastery in speed and footwork.
Cheslin Kolbe and Kurt-lee Arendse, both of whom are going to start against Ireland. Both of them are relatively smaller in size when compared with their Irish counterparts, but they make up for it with their over-the-top ability to move quickly through the spaces, and their expertise in dismantling the opponent is a bothersome trick to counter.
With that being said, Ireland’s Mack Hansen recently shared his views on going toe-to-toe against Cheslin Kolbe and how he will play against the Hot Stepper. The Irish lad starts with the fact that he has trained in the past with Kolbe, which will act as an advantage early on in the game.
In the past, he also trained with Kurt-Lee, but only on a few occasions. He stated that no matter how much training you have done, it doesn’t matter against Kolbe. He’s indeed one of those rare talents that shows itself once in a generation.
At this moment, I am just focusing on my strategy rather than trying to figure out something out of the blue about my opponent, and I have decided to plan my moves and also gain enough confidence to ensure that I execute my game plans well while playing on the pitch.
The future ahead for the Shamrocks against the mighty Springboks
Based on their history, both parties have been able to perform significantly well in the World Cup, but Ireland has been able to perform way better in the past 15 months, so well that every team in the World Cup is going against them with only one message ingrained into their heads “Beat the Shamrocks.”
This match will give us a preview of which side is better. The one that’s going to win will indeed have a better chance of winning the World Cup, as both of them will probably overpower every major power that’s playing in the tournament so far.
From an overall perspective, Ireland hasn’t been able to find much success in the knockout stages so far, but the Irish coach Paul O’Connell has high hopes for this team as he boldly mentioned in an interview that this team has been able to face some truly cunning opponents past year.
Yet, They were able to come out victorious against each one of them. These boys read their opponents and implement different strategies in quick succession. This thing, in particular, is their real strength.
As a coach, I am excited to see how these lads will play against the Springboks and whether they can find gaps or weak points in the opponent’s game in time. They need to act as a group to ensure their victory and dominance in Pool B of this World Cup.
