Ireland head coach Andy Farrell claims that Ireland's tour of South Africa this summer will be an "exciting" experience for his Ireland players.
The Irish team just won another Guinness Six Nations title under Farrell and will have their focus on downing the World Cup champions in their own backyard in a couple of months.
The first Test is scheduled for Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday, July 6, with the second Test a week later at Hollywoodbets Kings Park in Durban as Ireland make their first trip to South Africa in eight years. The Springboks won that 2016 series 2-1. The opening test marked Ireland’s first-ever victory over the Springboks on South African soil.
Since then, Ireland has won all three meetings between the teams and five of the last seven. It will also be the first meeting between the sides since they met in the Rugby World Cup in November. Ireland won 8-13 that day.
Farrell welcomes the challenge of the Springboks and claims that's what it is all about.
"It doesn’t get any more difficult, does it, or any more exciting than that," Farrell said. "All you want is an opportunity to put yourself out there against the best, and South Africa is 100% the best.
"Being able to go out there and test ourselves over there—we've managed to win one game over there before—will be great for our development going forward."
Damian Willemse of South Africa clears the ball past Cian Healy of Ireland during the Autumn International match between Ireland and South Africa at Aviva Stadium on November 5, 2022, in Dublin. (Photo by Oisin Keniry/Getty Images)Ireland has been excellent for the best part of two years now under Farrell, but has suffered blips along the way. A loss to France in 2021, a loss to New Zealand in the Rugby World Cup, and a Grand Slam ender at the hands of England have all come in between glory and success for this Irish team.
Farrell believes that Ireland will learn from their losses and use their defeats as fuel to get better as time goes on.
"To be consistently at your best is probably impossible, but that is what we’re going after," added the Ireland coach. "But when class players drop out of the squad, it’s always going to take time to build back up, and if you can do that by winning or learning from the experiences like at Twickenham or whatever, then that’s all well and good.
"But the reality is that there’s plenty more in us, and there has to be for what’s coming for the rest of the year."
Ireland Summer Tour 2024:
South Africa vs. Ireland, Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria, Saturday, July 6
South Africa vs. Ireland, HollywoodBets Kings Park, Durban, Saturday, July 13
