Andy Farrell responds to Springboks’ ‘best ever’ claim as Ireland relish ‘last chance’

Ireland head coach Andy Farrell believes the current crop of Springboks is their best yet as he prepares his team for the second Test at Kings Park on Saturday.

The back-to-back Rugby World Cup winners took the first Test at Loftus Versfeld by 27-20 which sets up a win or series whitewash scenario for the touring Irish.

Farrell is confident his charges can turn things around if they play to their potential but also touched on the media’s recent claims about this group of Springboks.

Best group they’ve ever had

“You look at the strength in depth they’ve got and the quality they’ve got coming off the bench and it says everything where South Africa are at at this moment in time,” he said.

“I’ve heard you guys (the media) and many experts as well talk about whether this is the best South Africa group that they’ve ever had.

“Well, I certainly go along with that type of feeling myself, hence why we’re privileged to be able to come over here and test ourselves.”

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Farrell continued by saying that he expects Rassie Erasmus’ outfit to be “twice as good” in terms of performance this weekend as both teams learn from Pretoria.

“It was a proper Test match and I get all that but when we strip it back from our side, we’re disappointed,” Farrell said of the series opener.

“I’ve no doubt South Africa are going to be twice as good this weekend hence why we need to move pretty quickly this week in terms of the honesty of where we’re at and what we need to do going forward.

“It’s our last chance to have a crack at what is the best team in the world at this moment in time and we relish that opportunity.

“I think when you put on a green shirt, you’ve always got a chance. If we get the performance that we’re after, we’re more than capable of winning.”

Ireland come into the game with a new captain as Caelan Doris takes over the responsibilities from a benched Peter O’Mahony with Tadhg Beirne on the blindside.

Farrell’s side will be desperate to sign off their Test season with a famous win as they look to bounce back from an opening game that could have gone either way.

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