Springbok assistant coach Felix Jones says Ireland’s sustained excellence is no accident.
Offering a detailed breakdown of why Ireland have become one of the world’s most formidable Test teams, Irishman Jones said: “They’ve been in and around one, two or three in the world for such a long period.
“That goes back to the structures Ireland have created over decades – their school system, club system, academies, how it all feeds into the national team.
“They’ve really nurtured and capitalised and worked hard to make sure their feeder system is in a good place.”
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Jones credited generations of coaches for laying the foundation for Ireland’s modern rise.
“They’re extremely well coached and have been for a long time – from Declan Kidney and Les Kiss all the way through to Joe [Schmidt] and Andy [Farrell] now,” Jones said. “Paul O’Connell, Andrew Goodman … there’s so much quality. And, of course, the players have accelerated that success through unbelievable hard work.”
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Jones believes Ireland’s attack has evolved but not fundamentally changed.
“I wouldn’t say it’s more structured or less structured than before,” he said. “There are new faces giving it a different flavour, and I think Andrew Goodman is doing a really good job.”
As for facing Ireland, Jones insists sentiment does not affect preparation.
“For Jerry [Flannery], Paddy [Sullivan] and myself, it’s a little bit different, but it doesn’t impact anything at all,” he said. “We treat it like any other Test match for the Springboks – of high importance.”
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Jones also acknowledged the emotional strain on players like Franco Mostert and Lood de Jager, who faced disciplinary uncertainty this week.
“It’s disruptive for those guys because they desperately want to be selected,” he said. “But the rest of the group is professional enough to prepare as usual.”
Photo: Brendan Moran/Gallo Images
