‘One of the hotel staff started speaking Afrikaans to me. It takes a while to explain I’m actually Irish’

He smiles as he tells the story, fully aware of the internet meme about him being a South African project player rather than a son of Wicklow with Dutch heritage. It’s something he enjoys.

The fact he’s a world-class rugby player with blond hair only adds to the joke.

“It’s so funny . . . one of the hotel staff started speaking Afrikaans to me. It takes a while to explain I’m actually Irish,” he says.

“But more because they’re seeing the meme of it and thinking, ‘He must be South African’. I put something on Twitter there a couple of weeks ago and all the comments were like, ‘You’re coming home!’.

“I suppose it’s the Dutch surname and the rugby, everyone kind of makes the assumption . . .”

Today, he’ll get a different sort of South African welcome, with the Loftus Versfeld sold out and expected to have a febrile atmosphere as the world champions play at home for the first time since their triumph in France. He’ll relish it just as much.

South Africa tour daily – July 5th

Van der Flier first visited the Rainbow Nation as a 16-year-old schoolboy with Wesley College, visiting Cape Town and playing some local schools while taking in the Lions’ clash with South Africa ‘A’ at Newlands along the way.

He was back with Leinster on their first PRO14 tour of duty in 2017 but last month’s visit to Loftus Versfeld for the URC semi-final was another level.

He was a try-scorer against the Springboks during his World Player of the Year season in 2022 and played a key role against them during the World Cup pool win last September.

Having spent a year being coached by Jacques Nienaber, he knows well what’s coming in Pretoria today.

“One thing I’ve kind of noticed from talking to South African players, and even Jacques, it’s definitely very personal,” he says.

“They try and make it personal in terms of confrontation and make it a personal thing. It’s a way of motivating, that’s the way they like to do it, and they’re very passionate about playing for their country.

“I think a lot of it is what you see. It’s very much a physical test, who is man enough to take you on one-on-one. There’s definitely a lot of that in their psyche.

“It makes for a big physical challenge. It’s the same for any team in rugby, physicality plays a huge part of it, winning collisions, and it’s certainly something they pride themselves on.”

The build-up has been dominated by South African players building this up as a grudge match.

“It doesn’t bother me to be honest. I kind of avoid it altogether, any sort of media stuff like what they’re saying,” Van der Flier says.

“Other than their team sheet, that’s probably literally all I’d look at. You hear lads chatting about different things, but a lot of it, I find it entertaining, those things.

“Even watching the football, [Jose] Mourinho, the mind games they play, whether they’re mind games or they’re talking themselves up. It’s entertaining. There’s definitely that bit of edge. It comes from both sides potentially.

“The physical and confrontational nature of it, it can often be highly strung, particularly when South Africa are playing different teams, you see a few more of the push-and-shove moments. I have never experienced anything too negative anyway.”

What, we wonder, is it like to face off against a team like the Springboks?

“It’s a good question, they are like any team of their quality, if they win the first collision when they are carrying, if we don’t get a good tackle, you are already retreating and trying to compete at a breakdown where they are moving forward and hitting you back,” he explains.

“It’s a momentum thing.

“The way South Africa play is that they’ll receive a kick, someone will carry the ball, and if they make a few yards, you have big, heavy bodies running on to the ball.

“That’s how they play, they get on top of you and it’s hard to get momentum back. It can feel like they are really on top of you then.

“The key to it is to win the first collision, or win a collision, you’re back in, you have time to get off the line and put pressure on them again. It’s not letting them get into that position [of dominance at the breakdown].

“There are certain players who are very happy for you to run straight at them, whereas against other teams or other circumstances that can work, in running straight and hard.

“There’s no point when playing against some of their players, very physical, good in big collisions, there’s no point in holding on to the ball and running straight at them when they know that’s your only option.

“The trick is definitely having options, whether you can use footwork, hand-off, play a pass, having a bit of variety or choice. That is what I find. I wouldn’t be the biggest of forwards so I need something other than running straight.”

Van der Flier is one of those players who has endured his fair share of disappointment this season, with plenty of lows to go with the Six Nations high.

“It’s difficult,” he admits. “It can take its toll on you. It’s not like you are playing a game, there’s a couple of weeks’ build-up and you lose, and then it’s like, ‘We lost’, it’s a year of build-up or a few years of build-up to try and get to those positions, especially at club level. It was disappointing.

“One thing that I try and do individually is to try to put it in such a way, like, ‘Did I do everything that I could to prepare for it? Did I try as hard as I could?’. Leading into the game, ‘Was I as ready as I could be?’

“‘Yeah, I was’. ‘Did I try as hard as I could? Yeah’. I might have made a load of mistakes but I can be happy with that and try and move on.

“That is how I would go about it. It is tough.

“You put the Leinster season behind you and it is nice to be in a new environment and everyone’s in good form and looking ahead to Saturday. It’s exciting.”

Some people think it’s a homecoming of sorts and he’s happy to be in on the joke. At 4pm today, things will be decidedly more serious.