Jacques Nienaber: Cheslin Kolbe at full-back serves Springboks best against Ireland

Jacques Nienaber believes selecting Cheslin Kolbe at full-back and continuing with the Springboks' 'bomb squad' on the bench can help negate Ireland’s threats on Saturday.

The world champions have named a side brimming with skill and power for the opening game of their northern hemisphere tour at the Aviva Stadium.

Kolbe starts at full-back for the first time in his Springboks career and will also provide out-half cover for Damien Willemse, who was handed the No 10 shirt.

Nienaber has again opted for six forwards on his bench, with Faf de Klerk and Willie le Roux the only backs named among the replacements.

"We had a good look at the strengths of Ireland and feel the combination of the 6-2 split and also the combination that we selected in the back three is going to give us the best possible advantage against Ireland," said South Africa head coach Nienaber.

"Some of Ireland’s strengths are their multi-phase attack, their fitness and the speed of their breakdown. We think selecting that combination will serve us the best."

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Former Ireland centre Darren Cave looks ahead to Saturday's game against South Africa

Toulon star Kolbe has played at both full-back and out-half at club level but Nienaber claimed the time was never right to hand him the No 15 shirt for South Africa.

"After about three or four games since he started with us in 2018, Cheslin was always a realistic option for us at 15," he said.

"He often trained there for us. There was just never an opportunity for us to play