Siya Kolisi warns Springboks must be ruthless to end Dublin drought

Ireland have won two of the past three meetings between the sides, dating back to the 2023 Rugby World Cup, and the Boks have not tasted victory in Dublin since 2012. Rassie Erasmus' side have claimed away victories against every major rugby nation but Ireland.

Both Kolisi and Irish-born assistant coach Felix Jones, who joined him for Friday's press conference, said another big performance would be required if the Boks hoped to flip the script and maintain their win streak on tour.

"They're a very good team, and that's the reason we've struggled to win here for so many years," said Kolisi.

"It will all be about taking our opportunities this weekend because we've lost with small margins against them at times as a result of that, and we've learned a lot from those previous games. This is a very important match, so we must be at our best."

Jones, who represented Ireland before joining the Springbok coaching staff in 2019, echoed Kolisi's view and said much of the hosts' long-term success comes down to their strong structures.

"This team specifically are extremely well coached and they have been for a long time," he said.

"And then of course, you have players who have accelerated that success with their hard work, and you can see it in their style of play, their skillset, and the depth of the players coming through."

When quizzed about how it felt to be Irish going into this massive Test, Jones said: "It's a little different for us (himself, Jerry Flannery, and Paddy Sullivan, who are all on the management team), but it doesn't impact on anything. We're treating this match as we would any other Test for the Boks."

Elaborating on what has made Ireland such a successful rugby nation, Jones said: "They've been in and around the top three in the world for such a long time now, and it probably goes back to the structures they've created over the last few decades.

"Their school, club, and academy system all feed smoothly into their national system, and from a high level, they've nurtured that and capitalised on ensuring that their feeder structure is in a good place."

Springbok lock RG Snyman will achieve the significant milestone of earning 50 Test caps if he takes the field from the replacements bench, and Kolisi was full of praise for his teammate for this fine achievement.

"I'm very happy for him," said Kolisi. "With everything he's been through, he could have given up at any time, and I'd like to credit the unions that have backed him and stuck with him through all his injuries.

"He's always supported us, even when he was out, and since he's been back, you can see what it means to him to be here. So I'm really grateful and happy that he's achieving this milestone. He missed out on two years with the team, but he kept fighting.

"He's one of the most talented guys in the group, and hopefully we can make it special for him."

READ MORE: 'Life of the party': Springbok stars pay tribute to RG Snyman ahead of 50th cap