"It's a religion for these people' - Peter O'Mahony ready for rugby-mad Springboks

It took Loftus Versfeld less than a day to become sold out, when tickets went on sale for this afternoon's first Test between Ireland and South Africa.

More than 50,000 tickets were snapped up almost instantly back in March for the unofficial World Cup homecoming.

There's a sign outside the ground in Pretoria that reads 'Welcome to the Capital of Rugby', and it's not far off.

"I'd go as far as saying it's a religion for these people over here, the lift their team has given them over the last two World Cups and going back further a long time before that" Ireland captain Peter O'Mahony said about their hosts.

The 34-year-old wasn't being hyperbolic with such a claim. The arrival of the four South African franchises to the URC in 2021 has since given those of us working the rugby beat a real sense of how passionate the Springbok fans are. Whether it's articles, podcasts or videos, they devour the lot.

The Irish players have also grown used to playing in the big South African stadiums.

Munster and Leinster both played at Loftus in recent months, with Munster winning that game, while they've also won away at the Lions and Stormers.

Their most recent win against the Stormers came in Cape Town in the 2023 United Rugby Championship final, where a raucous 50,000 crowd saw them upset the defending champions.

But O'Mahony believes even a URC final won't be much preparation for a Test match atmosphere in South Africa.

"It was a great atmosphere and experience [in the 2023 URC final], it was a good game, but I'd still argue it's going to be a different animal tomorrow.

"There'll be pockets of Irish, but it'll be a South African crowd tomorrow.

"I'd look back to the 1995 World Cup, some of the lads on my team won't be old enough to remember it.

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