Seconds up and out to impress

The midweek Springboks side are probably good enough to give any senior Five Nations side a run for their money, but at least the Irish A team which faces them in Ravenhill tonight can be described as the country's true second-string side.

Normally, the custom is for A games to precede tests by 24 hours; thereby ruling out the replacements in the senior squad as well. However, as this game comes three days after the Lansdowne Road match, it affords the Irish management a chance to give coach Mike Ruddock all bar the starting 15 used last Saturday.

Indeed, Girvan Dempsey will start again - this time reverting to his preferred full back position - in addition to the seven replacements on duty last Saturday. Accordingly, it is a measure of the team's strength that all the starting line-up, save for the Shannon tight-head John Hayes, have been capped at full international level.

Collectively, It is a huge opportunity for this makeshift team to end the Springboks' unbeaten record in this the penultimate game of their eight-match tour. It almost goes without saying that this is also a great opportunity for the players individually - primarily the backs - to impress. It also provides a rare night in the representative lights for the likes of Niall Woods and Eddie Halvey.

As with the Combined Provinces, the pack again contains four Shannon men and five Munster men (even if none of them have ever experienced that winning feeling at Ravenhill for their province), and they have been buttressed by a more hardened gathering of internationals in Reggie Corrigan, Ross Nesdale and Jeremy Davidson.

The improvement in the back play should, in theory, be even greater. Intriguingly, this back division looks to have potentially more flair about it than the Test unit - Ciaran Scally's long pass, David Humphreys's inventive hands and vision, Rob Henderson's potent straight running, Pat Duignan's pace and the try-scoring ability of the outside three.

However, in terms of pace and especially physique, the Springbok dirt-trackers are more than their equals and hence there will be an equally pertinent focus on the home side's defending. This is particularly true of Humphreys, Woods, Duignan and O'Mahony. A few missed tackles by any of them would seriously damage their future international prospects.

The opposite is almost true of Eddie Halvey, who tackled big against the Springboks in Cork, but made comparatively little impression off fewer opportunities with the ball in hand.

Meanwhile, after his summer injury, Reggie Corrigan has some catching up to do and knows it. A prolonged version of his impressive and fired-up 25-minute cameo last Saturday will go some way towards achieving that.

Emulating the mental approach of the Irish Test side is imperative, rather than the slightly stand-offish attitude of the Combined Provinces. Given there's so much at stake for them, this Irish A side should be able to.

If there is a good time to be playing the Springboks, this may be it. The Test side are already ensconced in London and while not exactly out of sight and out of mind (Nick Mallett flies over for the game), the carrot of a Test place has been all but pulled away from them. As this is their "last" game of the season, their thoughts are entitled to be directed homeward. Against that, the Springboks ought to be more cohesive and start as favourites. They've scored 143 points and conceded 17 in their three wins over the Scottish Super Districts and the Combined Provinces, with a try ratio of 21-1. Come to think of it then, strong favourites.

Ireland A: G Dempsey (Terenure); N Woods (London Irish), P Duignan (Galwegians), R Hen- derson (Wasps), D O'Mahony (Bedford); D Humphreys (Dungannon), C Scally (Blackrock); R Corrigan (Lansdowne), R Nesdale (Newcastle), J Hayes (Shannon), M Galwey (capt), J Davidson (Castres), D Corkery (Cork Constitution), A Foley (Shannon), E Halvey (Shannon). Replacements - S Mason (Ballymena), K Keane (Garryowen), T Tierney (Garryowen), D Wallace (Garryowen), J Duffy (Galwegians), A Clarke (Dungannon), E Byrne (St Mary's).

South Africa: R Markram (Griqualand West), R Fleck (Western Province), F Smith (Blue Bulls), D Kayser (Eastern Province); B van Straaten (Gauteng Falcons), C Alcock (Eastern Province); T van der Linde (Western Province), O Nkumane (Golden Lions), B Moyle (Gauteng Falcons), A Venter (Free State Cheetahs), J Trystman (Western Province), C Krige (Western Province), A Vos (Golden Lions, capt), P Smit (Griqualand West). Replacements - B Paulse (Western Province), L Venter (Griqualand West), W Swanepoel (Free State), S Boome (Western Province), N Drotske (Free State), O le Roux (Natal Sharks).