Easterby: Ireland won't be swayed by big Bok bench

Ireland defence coach Simon Easterby says his side won't be sucked in by mind games when it comes to their team selection for Saturday's crucial Rugby World Cup Pool B meeting with South Africa (live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player).

Head coach Andy Farrell will name his matchday squad on Thursday for the clash with the reigning world champions, who have gone with a forward-dominated selection for the weekend, picking seven forwards and just one back among the replacements.

There have been calls for the Irish management team to break from their own tradition and opt for a 6:2 split on the bench in order to deal with what will be a hugely physical South African pack.

However Easterby has hinted that they will be sticking with their usual 5:3 breakdown of forwards and backs, and is confident they can come to the game on their own terms.

"We haven't tinkered with that split before and there might be times where through injury or other reasons [that happens], but I'd say we’ll be fairly conventional in what we do at the weekend in terms of the split," the Ireland assistant said.

Ireland have played 44 Tests since Andy Farrell took over as head coach in 2020 and have gone with the standard 5:3 split in each of those.

While Easterby (above) says he understands why South Africa have loaded their bench up with extra forwards, it's a case of each to the their own.

"It's not something we’ve taken a huge amount of time looking at. It’s a talking point but at the end of the day, it’s their decision and strategy to go with that. Ours will be slightly different.

"They believe that’s the way they need to set themselves to beat us on Saturday, just like we’ll be playing the way we want to beat South Africa.

"It’s a talking point, I don’t think it changes