The Aviva Stadium is a total sell out – South Africa, world champions, are coming to town. There’s probably more chance of digging for gold on Lansdowne Road than getting a ticket, so it’s down to begging, borrowing, maybe even a little stealing. It’s the last match of a riveting, but punishing, November schedule for the Irish team.
South Africa have retained the Rugby Championship title, playing some great rugby, with all four teams positively contributing to the best championship for a long time. But, and there is a definite but, the levels of legal brutal physicality blasted through the stratosphere.
Just when it seemed an impossibility to heighten those levels, that’s what happened, particularly in the two New Zealand v South Africa clashes. While it was one win apiece, the all-time record thrashing (43-10), delivered by the Springboks in Wellingto
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