South African familiarity a boost for Ireland's World Cup hopes

This season's Champions Cup, in its inaugural year with the inclusion of South African teams, is changing the landscape of the game.

Where there were once memories of Irish sides going to the scorching south of France to pull off unlikely victories, they now find these challenges on new shores, such as the Western Cape and Durban.

As much as the format is more complex and the challenge has become monumental with the inclusion of international laden South African teams, it has brought a positive change from a rugby playing perspective.

Munster or Harlequins however may not echo those sentiments at the moment given their respective defeats at the weekend. The pool of talent-rich teams has grown stronger and survival in the competition is even more difficult, never mind competing to win.

The fans may also curse the changing formats at times.

Those that can afford the time and expense to travel further afield will relish the excuse and opportunity to experience some of the picturesque scenery in South Africa, but for most it is not a possibility.

However, when you get to see an Irish team like Munster taking on World Cup winners, it brings another layer of excitement to the game. Calvin Nash dualled with the influential Springbok Makazole Mapimpi and wasn’t out of place either with a handful of scorching runs, despite being on the back foot for most of the game.

The full Springbok front row packed down against Irish internationals, with recent grand slam winner Peter O’ Mahony taking on the Springbok captain Siya Kolisi.

This can only be good for our game in the long term.

As with the URC, Irish players are playing against the best players in the world more frequently and experiencing a different way to play the game. The Champions