'Ireland has been alongside South Africa as a perennial over-performer'

Former Springbok captain Bob Skinstad has praised the Irish Rugby system and has questioned what a similar set up would look like for South African Rugby.

Given Ireland’s relatively small playing numbers, the men in green’s incredible rise as rugby power over the past decade has been remarkable.

In large part, this success has been a result of exceptional planning and management, which sees the governing body, the Irish Rugby Football Union, micromanage every area of the professional game.

Winning five Six Nations titles since 2014, including two Grand Slams, a series win over the All Blacks in New Zealand, and a rise to number one in the world rankings, Irish Rugby has become a real player in the international game.

Although World Cup success has yet to be achieved, Ireland’s performances at the 2023 Rugby World Cup were the first time the nation was a true contender at the game’s global showpiece.

Defeating the Springbok team, who would go on to win the tournament in incredible fashion with three one-point victories throughout the knockout stages, Ireland were left ruing what might have been as they were dumped out of the tournament by an exceptional All Blacks performances in the quarterfinal.

Whilst the Boks went on to win the tournament, Skinstad has posed an interesting question as to just how much better the men in green and gold could be on a consistent basis if they had more control of their players throughout the four year cycle.

“I love the fact that there’s a competitive Irish influence in the tournament as well because Ireland has been alongside South Africa as a perennial over-performer over the last five years of world rugby, knocking over some of the biggest teams in the world and, in particular, playing very well in their domestic Six Nations,” Skinstad said.

Delving into the Irish system, which sees the Irish provinces continually contend in both the BKT URC and EPCR competitions, Skinstad said, “We see the quality of the teams that feed that Irish team, and we see how they work, and I think to myself, well, if South African rugby were ever to sort of work out (A way to replicate the Irish set-up) what the future looks like.

“It would be great to work very closely with the domestic teams to make sure you feed the Springbok team and have a squad with the best possible players, the most amount of rest, the most amount of time together, the most amount of training together and I think collaboration in and around the URC helps that happen.”