Irish bid to give Springboks a wake-up call: 3 pivotal points

Ireland, the number one ranked team in the world, take on South Africa the World Cup holders in what should be an epic Autumn international Test on Saturday at the Aviva Stadium.

Adding spice to an already intriguing encounter in Dublin is the fact that they are both in the same pool at the Rugby World Cup which is less than a year away.

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AFP Sports picks out three things which could prove pivotal on Saturday:

Sexton v Willemse - The Sorcerer and the Apprentice

The battle at flyhalf will be a fascinating tussle between Ireland's iconic playmaker Johnny Sexton and the utility back Damian Willemse.

The 24-year-old Springbok is 13 years younger than Sexton, but the Irish captain has over 100 caps at flyhalf whilst Willemse can count the number of times he has played in the position at Test level on one hand.

Willemse has been called upon due to World Cup winning flyhalf Handre Pollard being injured and Elton Jantjes is lacking in game time and battling personal problems.

Willemse certainly caught the eye with his performances at flyhalf in away wins over Australia and Argentina in the Rugby Championship.

Sexton is nobody's fool and unlike many, whose eyebrows were raised over Willemse's selection in such a pivotal role, he sees no reason why he cannot shine.

"He's unpredictable," said Sexton on Tuesday.

"He's got fantastic footwork, he has a good kicking game, he's strong, he's fast obviously.

"Some traits that you wouldn't normally associate with a 10 but he's an excellent player."

The Erasmus factor

This will be the first match Springbok Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus can attend since his ban from attending Test matches for making disparaging remarks about the referee in the first Test with the