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Ireland must be adaptable and prepared to grind out an \u201cugly\u201d win against reigning world champions South Africa, according to defence coach Simon Easterby.<\/p>\n
Andy Farrell\u2019s men head to Paris for the standout fixture in Pool B seeking to secure a spot in the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals with a fixture to spare.<\/p>\n
Ireland have won 27 of their last 29 Tests after beginning the tournament with thumping bonus-point victories over Romania and Tonga and have often entertained during that remarkable run of results.<\/p>\n
The world\u2019s top-ranked nation will once again look to deliver their easy-on-the-eye style on Saturday evening at Stade de France.<\/p>\n
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Yet Easterby accepts that may not be possible for the full 80 minutes against a physical Springboks side sporting an intimidating seven-one split of forwards and backs among their replacements.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know that when we play well and we play a certain way that we\u2019re going to be difficult to play against and difficult to beat,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll be looking to implement a lot of the stuff that you\u2019ll have seen over the last couple of years in what we do on Saturday as we have tried to do in the Tonga and Romania games.<\/p>\n
It would be great if we could throw the ball around and score plenty of tries but we know that we have to do things in the moment and make sure we’re adaptable.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe haven\u2019t had to win ugly maybe too many times.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would be great if we could throw the ball around and score plenty of tries, but we know that we have to do things in the moment and make sure we\u2019re adaptable and that might mean playing certain ways in certain parts of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Springboks head coach Jacques Nienaber made a statement of intent on Tuesday afternoon when announcing a stacked bench containing just one back, scrum-half Cobus Reinach.<\/p>\n
Easterby admits the bold selection is a talking point, but does not change Ireland\u2019s approach.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery team has a particular strategy and it\u2019s up to them to believe that that strategy is the right thing for each game,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, they believe that\u2019s the way they need to set themselves to beat us on Saturday, just like we\u2019ll be playing the way we want to beat South Africa.<\/p>\n
\u201cListen, it\u2019s a talking point. I don\u2019t think it changes anything for us, to be honest.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat will determine it in the end is hindsight, which will allow everyone to say it was the right or wrong thing to do. It\u2019s their strategy and not something that we can control.\u201d<\/p>\n
Every member of Ireland\u2019s 33-man squad has trained this week at their base in Tours.<\/p>\n
Hooker Dan Sheehan (foot) and prop Finlay Bealham (head injury assessment) are in contention to feature against the Springboks.<\/p>\n
But number eight Jack Conan (foot) may have to wait until the Scotland game on October 7 for his first outing since August 5.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone trained really well today,\u201d said Easterby. \u201cProbably Jack\u2019s the only one that\u2019s slightly behind in terms of being able to get himself right for this weekend.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s done incredibly well, as have the medics, conditioners to get him up to speed.<\/p>\n
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\u201cHe\u2019s actually probably on track from where we thought he\u2019d be, so he\u2019s done really well, happy with his progress.<\/p>\n
\u201cFinlay and Dan both trained really well today, so they\u2019re back in the mix.\u201d<\/p>\n