Springboks legend says Ireland can only be ‘judged’ when they visit South Africa due to sub-standard Six Nations

Rugby World Cup winner Joel Stransky has called for Ireland’s coronation as the new kings of rugby to be delayed until they face South Africa in July.

Welsh greats Jonathan Davies and Sam Warburton hailed Andy Farrell’s men as the best in the business either side of victory over Wales last time out.

With Ireland bound for Twickenham next week to face Steve Borthwick’s misfiring side, bookies have them heavy odds-on favourites to land a fourth Grand Slam in 15 years.

Not yet top dogs

Springbok legend Stransky is fulsome in his praise for the Irish, whose game he describes as “probably the most beautiful in the world to watch at the moment”.

It is the notion Ireland are now rugby’s top dogs that he is not ready to accept.

“There’s no doubt they’re a great side and are still growing,” said the man whose golden boot settled the 1995 World Cup final. “They are the real deal, I love watching them.

Their lineup is strong, they play quickly, they make good use of the entire field, and each player is an expert ball handler who can carry the ball into space, clean out and ruck, offload the tackle, and make excellent judgments.

It’s really distinctive. They are among the top two teams in the game for good reason—I don’t think any other team in the world plays the way they do.

However, I believe that when they visit South Africa, we will judge them.

A portion of Stransky’s reluctance stems from the uneven overall standard of the Six Nations competition this year.

“From here, we observe that England is changing and is still figuring out its future,” he remarked.

“Scotland are playing above their weight in many ways, but France without Dupont are not the French team they were in the build up to the World Cup.

“So we see Ireland and we’re not sure whether they’ve stepped up or everyone else has just come back a yard.”

Ireland beat the Boks at the World Cup and have won three in a row against the Rainbow Nation, five of the last seven, eight of 12 dating back to 2009.

 

But they have still to reach a first World Cup semi-final whereas South Africa are back-to-back champions.

Stransky added: “There’s definitely some ambiguity around who the best team in the world is.

“To be the best you’ve got to be the best consistently – and Ireland have probably been that.

“But to win the World Cup you have to be great in the great moments, when it really counts, and that’s what we did.”

This is as undeniable as the fact the Test encounters between the countries, in Pretoria and Durban on the first two Saturdays of July, will be must-see.

Stransky likens the anticipation around South Africa to a once-in-12-years British and Irish Lions visit.

He said: “That Ireland tour is a massive milestone for Rassie Erasmus, for Siya Kolisi, for this Springbok team.

“It is a chance to really say, you know, we won the Rugby World Cup. Yes we won the last few games by one point, yes, we were a little fortunate, but we are a great side and we are going to prove it.

“The series will maybe not quite carry the prestige of a World Cup but it will be as important to both teams in terms of their reputation and their goals.

“Both will be out to absolutely prove they are number one in the world.”

Ireland’s first task is to defeat England and Scotland, who would have gone undefeated if not for the highly controversial Murrayfield “no-try” verdict in favor of France.

Even though Borthwick’s team gave the Boks their biggest upset of the World Cup, Stransky rates the Scots but sees no threat at Twickenham.

“We should never have won that game against England; we all know we were dead and buried,” he remarked. “We left the jail. We did indeed escape from prison.

It’s fair to say that England advanced to the semi-final with ease and performed admirably that day. They didn’t play particularly good rugby at the World Cup, though. A number of box kicks were made. It was uninteresting.

Period of evolution

“I believe they have made an effort to move on, but they still have a ways to go in that stage of development. They should choose the players for the game after determining how they want to play, in my opinion.

“When you waver between tactics, you find yourself in a strange place.”

Ireland would set a competition record with their 12th straight Six Nations victory over England, and they would be 80 minutes away from being the first team to win back-to-back Grand Slams since France in 1998.

Irish complacency might be England’s greatest hope, but Stransky rules it out.

“At Twickenham, Andy Farrell would never undervalue England,” he declared. “It is unlikely that Ireland will be overconfident or underprepared.”