South Africa and Ireland renew rivalries at Kings Park Stadium in Durban, in the second and final Test of their two-match series which got off to a momentous start last weekend in Pretoria — the Springboks winning an epic encounter 27-20 despite a late rally from Andy Farrell’s side.
The Boks were on the board inside two minutes at Loftus Versfeld thanks to flying winger Kurt-Lee Arendse, but aside from Handre Pollard and Jack Crowley exchanging penalties, the try-scoring dried up until Irish debutant fullback Jamie Osborne crossed five minutes before halftime.
The second period saw the classic South African stranglehold imposed on the game by Rassie Erasmus’s side, restricting Ireland’s yardage and line-break opportunities and keeping them scoreless, with Cheslin Kolbe adding their second try at the other end to open up a 20-8 lead going into the final 10.
Ireland finally made a breakthrough six minutes from full-time through Conor Murray, and so began another frantic period akin to the opening minutes. South Africa all-but confirmed the win three minutes later as their huge pack forced a penalty try, but within 60 seconds, Ryan Baird had crossed again for the Irish to set up a seven-point ball-game once again.
Erasmus’ men held out and Ireland’s late comeback can surely only spur them on to right any wrongs in the second Test. With everything to play for in Durban, The Sporting News has all your TV and streaming details for another titanic showdown.
South Africa vs. Ireland 2nd Rugby Test date, kick off time
South Africa host Ireland at Kings Park Stadium in Durban, South Africa in the second Test of Ireland’s two-match 2024 Tour on Saturday, July 13. The game kicks off at 5:00 p.m. local time (SAST).
Here’s how that time translates across some of the major territories:
| Date | Kickoff time | |
| UK | Saturday, July 13 | 4:00 p.m. BST |
| USA | Saturday, July 13 | 11:00 a.m. ET |
| Australia | Sunday, July 14 | 1:00 a.m. AEST |
South Africa vs. Ireland 2nd Test live stream, TV channel
Sky Sports is the place for Rugby Union fans to watch international touring matches this year. The pay-tv broadcaster is showing the match live on two of their channels, as well as streaming live and on catch-up via the Sky Go app or a NOW TV pass.
There’s no such TV coverage of the match in the US or Australia on this occasion, but fans in both countries can live stream the action via FloRugby and Stan Sport respectively.
| TV channel | Streaming | |
|---|---|---|
| UK | Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Action | Sky Go Pass, NOW TV |
| USA | — | FloRugby, FloSports app |
| Australia | — | Stan Sport |
South Africa vs. Ireland lineups, team news
After their seven-point victory in Pretoria, the Springboks are unchanged. The starting XV – all of whom featured in the victorious 2023 Rugby World Cup final for South Africa – is exactly the same, with first Test try scorers Kurt-Lee Arendse and Cheslin Kolbe each keeping their places on the wings.
South Africa starting XV: Willie le Roux, Cheslin Kolbe, Jesse Kriel, Damian de Allende, Kurt-Lee Arenas, Handre Pollard, Faf de Klerk; Ox Nche, Bongi Mbonambi, Frans Malherbe, Eben Etzebeth, Franco Mostert, Siya Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Kwagga Smith.
South Africa replacements: Malcolm Marx, Gerhard Steenkamp, Vincent Koch, Salmaan Moerat, RG Snyman, Marco van Staden, Grant Williams, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
Andy Farrell, meanwhile, rings the changes for Ireland ahead of this all-or-nothing second Test in Durban. The headline switch sees captain Peter O’Mahony drop to the bench as James Ryan comes into the side, pushing Tadhg Beirne to blindside flanker with a clear impetus on packing as much size as possible into a formidable Irish pack, with only pacy hooker Dan Sheehan missing.
With O’Mahony amongst the replacements, Caelan Doris will lead out the side, and after his try-scoring performance off the bench in Pretoria, veteran Conor Murray displaces Craig Casey at scrum-half. Caolin Blade joins the bench as the replacement nine, and is joined by Stuart McCloskey and Rob Herring, the latter replacing Sheehan with Ronan Kelleher in the XV.
Ireland starting XV: Jamie Osborne, Calvin Nash, Robbie Henshaw, Bundee Aki, James Lowe, Jack Crowley, Conor Murray; Andrew Porter, Ronan Kelleher, Tadhg Furlong, Joe McCarthy, James Ryan, Tadhg Beirne, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris.
Ireland replacements: Rob Herring, Cian Healy, Finlay Bealham, Ryan Baird, Caolin Blade, Ciaran Frawley, Stuart McCloskey.
South Africa vs. Ireland prediction
With everything riding on this second and final Test of the series, Ireland simply have to throw everything they’ve got at South Africa in Durban this weekend. Their changes in the pack show that Andy Farrell is willing to match brute strength with brute strength, and that may be enough to topple the Springboks on home turf.
The loss of hooker Sheehan, particularly around the set-piece, could be a big one, but with players of Beirne and new captain Doris’ quality at the breakdown and in the loose, Ireland may just have enough firepower across the park to deal South Africa a first home defeat since 2022.
Prediction: Ireland to win by seven points or fewer