Springboks v Ireland: Kick-off time, team line-ups and officials

Earlier this week, coach Jacques Nienaber made 13 personnel changes and a positional switch – as well naming a seven-one split in favour of the forwards on the replacements’ bench – for the Springboks’ third Rugby World Cup pool encounter against Ireland.

The match kicks off at 21:00 and will be broadcast live on SuperSport and SABC.

ALSO READ: Ireland coach on Springboks’ 7-1 split: I LOVE it!

Check out all the key matchday information below:

How the Springboks and Ireland will line up

Springboks – 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Cheslin Kolbe, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Steven Kitshoff.
Subs: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Trevor Nyakane, 19 Jean Kleyn, 20 RG Snyman, 21 Marco van Staden, 22 Kwagga Smith, 23 Cobus Reinach.

Ireland – 15 Hugo Keenan; 14 Mack Hansen, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe; 10 Johnny Sexton (c), 9 Jamison Gibson-Park; 8 Caelan Doris, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Peter O’Mahony; 5 James Ryan, 4 Tadhg Beirne; 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Ronan Kelleher, 1 Andrew Porter.
Subs: 16 Dan Sheehan, 17 David Kilcoyne, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Ryan Baird, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Jack Crowley, 23 Robbie Henshaw.

ALSO READ: RANKINGS: World Rugby confirm changes, Springboks well placed

Match details and officials:

Date: Saturday, September 23
Venue: Stade de France, Saint-Denis, Paris
Kick-off: 21.00 (19.00 GMT; 21.00 SAST; 20.00 UK & Ireland time)
Expected weather: Partly cloudy, with little to no chance of precipitation. High of 19°C, low of 9°C
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Mathieu Raynal (France) & James Doleman (New Zealand)
TMO: Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)

ALSO READ: Springboks to wear ‘second alternate’ kit against Ireland… here’s why

Stats and facts:

Springbok record against Ireland:

Played 27, Won 18, Lost 8, Drawn 1. Points for: 522; Points against: 399. Tries scored: 71; Tries conceded: 37. Highest score: 38; Biggest win: 38 points (38-0). Average score: 19-15. Win %: 66,7%.

Milestones:

• Springbok wing Kurt-Lee Arendse will start the match with an impressive try-scoring record of 12 tries in 11 Tests.
• Springbok centre Damian de Allende will reach the 75 Test mark when he takes the field on Saturday.
• Saturday’s match will be the first time the Springboks and Ireland clash at a Rugby World Cup, making it the first Test between the two sides at a neutral venue.
• Bongi Mbonambi, Frans Malherbe, Steven Kitshoff, Eben Etzebeth, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Franco Mostert, Siya Kolisi, Faf de Klerk and Damian de Allende are the only players left from the last time the Boks beat Ireland – on 25 June 2016, in Nelson Mandela Bay.
• Kitshoff and Mbonambi made their Springbok debuts in the same match against Ireland seven years ago, while De Klerk and Mostert debuted earlier in that series against the Irish.
• Replacement forwards Jean Kleyn, RG Snyman and Marco van Staden will face Ireland for the first time.
• The Springboks have won their last seven Tests in the French capital. Their last defeat in the city was in 2005 by France (20-26).

ALSO READ: Springboks accused of being ‘morally’ corrupt with 7-1 bench

Miscellaneous:

• The total Test caps for the Springbok starting line-up is 833.
• There are 271 caps in the backline, with 562 caps among the forwards. On the bench there are a further 208 caps.
• The average caps per player in the backline is 38, the forwards 70, while the players on the bench average 26.