Will South Africa finally get that elusive win over Ireland in Dublin under Rassie Erasmus or will Andy Farrell's side end the year with a statement win?

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Are these South African players really big, or is this just a really small elephant?

Supporters for both sides are wrapped up well for this one in Dublin.

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Jonathan Bradley
BBC Sport NI senior journalist

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For all that South Africa have achieved as the dominant international team of their era, there remains a box unchecked by Rassie Erasmus' side.

The number one-ranked team in the world have been hoovering up silverware in recent years, winning consecutive editions of both the World Cup and Rugby Championship.

Aside from lifting the Webb Ellis Cup in Yokohama and Paris, the much-travelled Springboks have won Test matches all over the world.

While inflicting a record defeat on New Zealand in Wellington this summer naturally garnered the most attention, across the past two autumns their record in the northern hemisphere reads played six, won six, with away victories against all but one of the Six Nations teams.

Ireland, who host South Africa at Aviva Stadium on Saturday, are the lone exception.

Of the XV that will take the field in Dublin on Saturday, only Eben Etzebeth - South Africa's most-capped player - was involved when they last won a Test in the city back in 2012.

And after arriving in Ireland for the fourth of his side's five autumn Tests, the imposing lock noted that this was the fixture that jumped out in a packed schedule.

"When we received the calendar at the beginning of the year, this fixture was definitely one that stood out, so we're excited," he said.

"It's going to be a good match. We haven't won here in a while, so it's a nice opportunity for us."

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Now, it's definitely not my place to be telling a World Cup-winning Springbok what to do.

But if I was Bongi Mbonami I would definitely check out the Ireland Rugby Social on BBC Sounds.

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Ireland captain Caelan Doris admits there is "a lot on the line" for his side in today's climactic autumn Test against world champions South Africa.

Having started the November campaign with a disappointing loss to New Zealand in Chicago, Ireland bounced back with comfortable wins over Japan and Australia in Dublin.

But a victory over the back-to-back World Cup winners would give Ireland a major boost leading into the 2026 Six Nations.

"The success of this November hinges a little bit on our performance this weekend," said Doris.

"The momentum has built nicely as the weeks have gone on, but this is the real test now so there's a lot of excitement for it."

Like with the All Blacks, Ireland have enjoyed an intense rivalry with the Springboks in recent years, with Andy Farrell's side winning three of the past four meetings.

"There's definitely a rivalry there," added Doris.

"There's a strong understanding of how we both want to play the game. We've had some good results, they've beaten us over there in 2024.

"There's a lot on the line tomorrow, that's the feeling anyway, and the lads are excited for it."

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Ireland coach John Fogarty is ready to win by whatever means necessary.

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Tommy O'Brien says he hasn't "felt out of place" in the Ireland set-up since winning his first cap in the summer.

The Leinster wing scored two tries in each of the summer tour games against Georgia and Portugal, and has started in all of Ireland's autumn series games to date, bringing his cap tally to five.

In last week's 46-19 win over Australia, the 27-year-old's play-making ability shone through as he laid on a try for Mack Hansen and with five starts in as many games, feels he can make an impact when given the chance.

"I've loved and embraced any opportunity I've gotten," said O'Brien, who will start today.

"These November games are obviously a step up from the summer, but I haven't felt out of place. It feels like where I belong and I can definitely contribute to the team."

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Ireland eased injury concerns over full-back Mack Hansen before today's much-anticipated Test against world champions South Africa.

Normally a right winger, Hansen scored a hat-trick in last week's win over the Wallabies from full-back with Hugo Keenan and Jamie Osborne out injured.

Retained at 15 for the Springboks' visit to Dublin, Hansen's right hand and index finger were heavily strapped during Ireland's training session at Aviva Stadium on Friday.

When Caelan Doris was asked about the Connacht player's fitness, an Irish Rugby Football Union spokesperson interjected to confirm Hansen had "trained fully".

"Everyone is good, yeah," added Doris.

Ireland Rugby

Ireland head coach Andy Farrell has made four changes to his starting line-up for today's eagerly anticipated Test against world champions South Africa.

Garry Ringrose and Josh van der Flier are recalled after missing the wins over Australia and Japan because of hamstring problems.

Van der Flier's return to open-side flanker means captain Caelan Doris switches to number eight and Jack Conan drops to the bench.

Ringrose will be partnered in midfield by Bundee Aki, who will make his first Ireland start since the Six Nations defeat by France in March.

Stuart McCloskey, who started last week's thumping win over Australia, was ruled out earlier this week with a recurrence of the groin injury he picked up in the defeat by the All Blacks.

Robbie Henshaw, who impressed at outside centre against Australia, is out with a hamstring issue, meaning Tom Farrell - who made his debut against Japan earlier this month - is named as centre cover on the bench.

Andrew Porter returns at loose-head prop with Paddy McCarthy having been preferred against Australia.

Sam Prendergast is retained at fly-half after impressing against Australia, while Mack Hansen keeps the full-back spot after scoring a first-half hat-trick of tries in the 46-19 defeat of the Wallabies.

Ireland: M Hansen; T O'Brien, G Ringrose, B Aki, J Lowe; S Prendergast, J Gibson-Park; A Porter, D Sheehan, T Furlong, J Ryan, T Beirne, R Baird, J van der Flier, C Doris (capt).

Replacements: R Kelleher, P McCarthy, F Bealham, C Prendergast, J Conan, C Casey, J Crowley, T Farrell.

On this week's Ireland Rugby Social, Gavin Andrews and Conor Murray are joined by Ulster's Rob Herring.

The 35-year-old has represented Ireland 43 times and last played in green in 2024 against South Africa.

Born in Cape Town, Herring speaks about his move from South Africa to Ireland and he settled in Belfast after moving to Ulster in 2012.

In a wide-ranging podcast, the trio discuss Herring's career with Ireland, his first impressions of Andy Farrell and how much confidence he has for this season with Ulster.

Listen to the Ireland Rugby Social with Rob Herring on BBC Sounds right now.

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South Africa lock Eben Etzebeth admits the Test against Ireland "stood out" when this year's fixture schedule was released, but insisted the world champions are not out for revenge.

Ireland have won four of the past five matches between the sides, including the 2023 Rugby World Cup pool encounter and last year's hugely dramatic Test in Durban.

But Etzebeth, 34, says the Durban game - which followed South Africa's 27-20 win in Pretoria - is not at the forefront of the Springboks' minds.

"I'm not one for going back in time and watching past games for motivation," he said.

"Playing Ireland here in Dublin is a very different challenge to that series in South Africa. That was a year and a half ago. A lot can happen in rugby in a week, and that game was a long time ago."

Two-time World Cup winner Etzebeth added: "Ireland are a great team; they have been in the top three of the world rankings for several years.

"They are a top-quality side. I am looking forward to this fixture after a long wait because when we looked at the calendar at the beginning of the year, this fixture stood out."

Having rotated his team for last week's win over Italy, South Africa head coach Rassie Erasmus has recalled several key players, including fly-half Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, centre Damian de Allende and second row Eben Etzebeth.

Erasmus' line-up shows two changes from the impressive 32-17 win over France in Paris a fortnight ago, with Ruan Nortje and Canan Moodie replacing Lood de Jager and Kurt-Lee Arendse.

De Jager is suspended following his permanent red card against France, with a disciplinary committee having dismissed South Africa's appeal on Thursday.

Arendse - who scored a try against Ireland in Pretoria last year - has returned to South Africa after suffering a concussion against the Italians.

Franco Mostert was not considered for selection because of his disciplinary hearing this week. On Wednesday, the second row's red card against Italy was overturned, but South Africa say they did not want the outcome of his hearing to impact the team's preparations.

RG Snyman, who plays alongside the bulk of the Ireland team at Leinster, will earn his 50th Springboks Test cap off the bench.

"The majority of this team were rested last week to ensure that they recover from the physically taxing match against France, and it was always our plan to name an experienced outfit against Ireland," said Erasmus.

South Africa have not won in Dublin since 2012, suffering defeats in 2014, 2017 and 2022.

South Africa: Willemse; Moodie, Kriel, De Allende, Kolbe; Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Reinach; Venter, Marx, T du Toit, Etzebeth, Nortje, Kolisi (capt), PS du Toit, Wiese.

Replacements: Grobbelaar, Steenekamp, Louw, Snyman, Smith, Esterhuizen, Williams, Libbok.

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Former Ireland favourite Jerry Flannery is still a popular man despite being on South Africa's coaching team.

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Former Ireland international Stephen Ferris said that South Africa are "overwhelming favourites" to beat Ireland in today's autumn Test.

The back-to-back World Cup winners come into the game in Dublin off the back of winning the Rugby Championship title and beating France in Paris earlier this month despite playing half of the match with 14 men.

As a result, Ferris, who won 35 caps for Ireland, said a win against the Springboks would represent a "brilliant scalp" for Andy Farrell's men.

"South Africa are overwhelming favourites, they are going to bring huge physicality," Ferris told BBC Sport NI's Stephen Watson after he was inducted into the Rugby Players Ireland Hall of Fame.

"Hopefully Ireland get a foothold in the set piece and if they can get their attack going through Sam Prendergast, who was exceptional last week for the most part, then we can sneak a win."

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Ireland wing James Lowe says changes to rugby union rules surrounding contestable high balls have "brought a bit of a different dynamic to the game".

The focus of the new rules has been making the high-ball contest more open, improving player safety by reducing dangerous tackles and penalising players who illegally block or escort opponents from getting to the ball.

Speaking to reporters before today's Test against South Africa in Dublin, Lowe said the guidelines had made preparation and decision-making in "that massive facet of the game incredibly tougher".

"With the way the game is being refereed now it's completely different. The high ball, the contestable in the air, is completely different to what it was the last time we played against South Africa," reflected the 33-year-old.

"A thing we used to call 'the cradle', which was pretty much protecting the catcher so he could get a clean catch, there were about six lads protecting you to go up and try to win a high ball, now obviously that has changed and it has brought a bit of a different dynamic to the game.

"Obviously almost every contestable kick there's a collision in the air that you've got to worry about, there's trying to not knock it on, trying to win it cleanly.

"It's the way the game's going, we're doing a lot more in training, there's a lot more live contest in the air because you have to replicate it somehow."

South Africa have arrived at the Aviva.

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Ireland hooker Dan Sheehan says the meeting with world champions South Africa will provide "a great marker" to show the level of his side.

The match against the Springboks will complete Ireland's November internationals.

Andy Farrell's side lost to New Zealand in Chicago, then defeated Japan and Australia in Dublin in their first three fixtures.

"We've had some proper battles with them over the past couple of years," said Sheehan.

"It's always an exciting game to be a part of and I think everyone's really looking forward to getting up for the world champions coming to town and see where we are.

"We've been building nicely every week so far after maybe a slow start."

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Ireland centre Robbie Henshaw believes their final autumn nations series fixture against world champions South Africa will be a "proper test" in terms of assessing where the squad is at.

And Henshaw hopes the Irish can back up their display against the Wallabies with another big performance today.

"I think they're the talk of world rugby at the moment in terms of the strength in depth they have, the individual talent," he said.

"They're grinding out results... teams looks like they have them and then they find a way to get back.

"It's a proper test for us to see where we're at. We have gone toe-to-toe with them, from summer last year it was one win each in that series, so I suppose they'll be looking at that as well.

"It's massively exciting because they're such a proud nation as well and, you know, when we play against them here in Dublin, it's always a thriller."

Matt Gault
BBC Sport NI senior journalist at Aviva Stadium

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Head coach Andy Farrell says Ireland will relish the opportunity to test themselves against the "best in the world" in today's heavyweight autumn tussle against South Africa.

Farrell's side prepared for a reunion with the double world champions with a record 46-19 win over Australia in Dublin on Saturday.

South Africa are the world's top-ranked team and have beaten Japan, France and Italy this month after retaining the Rugby Championship in October.

"[They are] the best in the world. Everyone's talking about them and the type of rugby that they're playing," said Farrell.

"A rich vein of form and rightly so. They've played some brilliant stuff.

"It's a fantastic way to finish off our autumn. The last game at the Aviva. The lads will know what it means to everyone in Irish rugby as well, so we'll look forward to that."

Farrell, who has won three out of four games against South Africa as Ireland coach, added: "You always want to test yourself against the best.

"Certainly in this moment in time, South Africa are definitely the best and we relish that sort of opportunity to see where we're at."