Ireland v South Africa: Kick-off time, TV channel and team news for third Rugby World Cup pool match

When and wherever is it on?

Ireland’s 3rd Rugby World Cup lucifer is against South Africa connected Saturday nighttime astatine Stade de France successful Paris, kick-off is astatine 8pm (9pm section time). This is the 3rd of 4 matches successful Pool B.

How tin I ticker it?

Ireland v South Africa is unrecorded connected RTÉ and ITV1. Coverage connected RTÉ gets nether mode astatine 7pm.

How did the archetypal 2 games go?

Ireland kicked their tourney disconnected with an 82-8 triumph implicit Romania in Bordeaux. The 12 tries to 1 triumph was an Irish grounds astatine the World Cup and the second-biggest Irish winning borderline ever. And, crucially, the squad emerged from the archetypal crippled unscathed. Playing nether wide bluish skies and astatine a somesthesia of 36 degrees, it was successful galore ways the cleanable start.

[ Rugby World Cup is the Downton Abbey of sport. The elites rule ]

Then connected Saturday past they brought their tourney tally to 20 tries with a 59-16 triumph implicit Tonga successful Nantes. Andy Farrell’s enactment was again thoroughly vindicated arsenic helium opted to spell with adjacent to his strongest team, including skipper Johnny Sexton who overtook Ronan O’Gara’s Irish all-time scoring grounds of 1,083 points.

Tonga had 4 erstwhile All Blacks successful their ranks, but Ireland passed what could’ve been a tricky trial and with a overmuch improved lineout performance. Finlay Bealham’s departure for a HIA was the lone downside, up of the concern extremity of the pool.

Ireland person travel into this World Cup arsenic Six Nations champions, winning the Grand Slam aft beating Australia and South Africa the erstwhile November. Before that, they won 2 retired of 3 games during their palmy and historical circuit to New Zealand.

Andy Farrell’s squad are ranked satellite fig one, and heading into this tourney they enjoyed comfy warm-up wins implicit Italy, England and Samoa. Ireland person won their past 15 games, since losing to the All Blacks successful Eden Park successful July 2022. And Josh van der Flier is the reigning World Player of the Year. Surely this Irish squad volition beryllium the archetypal to get past a World Cup quarter-final – astatine slightest – but the gully hasn’t done them immoderate favours.

What’s the World Cup format?

Ireland are successful Pool B with Romania, Tonga, South Africa and Scotland, playing those teams successful that bid week-on-week with 2 weeks betwixt the last 2 games. First successful the radical volition look the runner-up successful Pool A successful the quarterfinals, whereas 2nd volition look the victor of the aforesaid radical which contains France and New Zealand. This means the apical 4 teams successful the satellite are each connected 1 broadside of the draw, leaving the likes of Australia, England, Wales, Fiji and Argentina to combat it retired for a spot successful the final.

[ Gerry Thornley: To triumph the Rugby World Cup, Ireland indispensable flooded past and a harsh draw ]

Ireland’s Pool B fixtures are arsenic follows (all times Irish):

Sat Sept 9th: Ireland 82 Romania 8

Sat Sept 16th: Ireland 59 Tonga 16

Sat Sept 23rd: v South Africa, Paris, 8.0

Sat Oct 7th: v Scotland, Paris, 8.0

Sat Oct 14th: Quarter-final 2 (winner Pool B vs runner-up Pool A), Paris, 8.0

Sun Oct 15th: Quarter-final 4 (winner Pool A vs runner-up Pool B), Paris, 8.0

Fri Oct 20th: Semi-final 1 (winner of QF1 vs victor of QF2), Paris, 8.0

Sat Oct 21st: Semi-final 2 (winner of QF4 vs victor of QF4), Paris, 8.0

Sat Oct 28th: Final (winner of SF1 vs victor of SF2) – Paris, 8.0

What to expect from South Africa?

World Cup-winning outhalf Handre Pollard has been called up to the Springboks squad to capable the vacancy created by hooker Malcolm Marx, whose tourney was ended earlier this week owed to a genu injury. South Africa person decided that Bongi Mbonambi and Deon Fourie, with flanker Marco van Staden capable to slot in, supply capable screen successful the hooker position.

In their last warm-up crippled they had a 35-7 triumph implicit the All Blacks successful Twickenham, with a caller guardant battalion (they made headlines with a 7/1 seat split) powering them to a connection victory.

South Africa started their tourney disconnected with an 18-3 triumph implicit Scotland earlier hammering Romania 76-0 astatine the weekend, contempt making 14 changes.

Their grounds astatine the World Cup makes it evident wherefore they are truthful feared, the Boks person won 3 titles retired of the 7 they’ve competed successful and they travel into this variation arsenic reigning champions. They person played 45 matches astatine Rugby World Cups and person won 38 for an 84 per cent winning ratio, lone the All Blacks person a amended record.

[ Felix Jones, the Dubliner trying to crippled triumph for South Africa implicit Ireland ]

Saturday volition beryllium the archetypal ever World Cup lucifer betwixt Ireland and South Africa. However, the 2 nationalist sides person faced disconnected connected 27 occasions successful total, going backmost to 1906. Of those meetings, the Springboks person won 18 matches, determination was 1 draw, portion Ireland person won 8 games. The astir caller of which came past November, a 19-16 triumph during the autumn internationals.

Team news

The Irish squad announcement is acceptable for Thursday, with the South Africa squad besides expected to beryllium named connected the aforesaid day.

Finlay Bealham went disconnected for an HIA against Tonga and did not return, there’s been nary update connected his chances to diagnostic against the Springboks. Dan Sheehan and Jack Conan person some yet to diagnostic successful the tourney aft picking up ft injuries successful the warm-up matches.

Irish onslaught manager Mike Catt said connected Sunday the absorption were “confident” that Sheehan volition beryllium acceptable for enactment this week, portion Gerry Thornley reports that Conan needs to instrumentality to afloat grooming this week and beryllium an enactment for the South African crippled if helium is to enactment successful this World Cup.

[ Jack Conan successful contention to beryllium acceptable for Ireland’s Rugby World Cup showdown with South Africa ]

Weather?

The forecast for Nantes connected Saturday nighttime is partially cloudy, with a little than 5 per cent accidental of rainfall and temperatures betwixt 16-17 degrees, arsenic good arsenic a upwind velocity of 5km/h. Ireland prepared for the higher temperatures, spending a week successful Portugal for a warm-weather grooming campy and besides playing their last warm-up crippled against Samoa successful Bayonne, wherever they besides had to woody with dense rainfall passim the match.

Who’s connected the whistle?

Ben O’Keeffe volition beryllium successful complaint of Ireland’s clash with South Africa. The New Zealander was criticised for failing to found crushed rules successful Ireland’s triumph implicit Australia successful November 2022.

“O’Keeffe needed to beryllium firm,” explained John O’Sullivan. “Unflinching, and accordant from the get-go to found the crushed rules successful this facet of the crippled for some teams; basically, to ping transgressors disconnected the parkland until everyone understood what was acceptable. He didn’t and truthful players, arsenic is their want, not truthful overmuch pushed but ignored boundaries.”

[ Referee Ben O’Keeffe failed to found crushed rules successful Ireland’s triumph implicit Australia ]

Any tickets?

Tickets for Ireland’s matches are being sold via the Rugby World Cup’s authoritative ticketing website and the Tonga crippled was priced from €75 (Cat 4) to €300 (Cat 1). But not adjacent authoritative resale tickets are present available, they were each sold weeks successful advance.