No shades of Gray at breakdown against Italy

is ruthless competition for possession. No doubt, he would’ve been frustrated by how slow the Boks were to react to the ferocity and spoiling of the Irish at the breakdown, considering the significant strides they have made.

But there’s nothing like an old-fashioned contact session to blow away the cobwebs.

“The key thing for me is that sometimes as a coach, you can’t hide behind statistics. When you look at the statistics of the Irish game, in terms of the breakdown, if you hadn’t been at the game and read them, you would’ve thought: ‘You know, good day’,” said Gray.

“But it wasn’t dominant, it wasn’t accurate or up to the standard backline, they do boast a formidable loose trio who will make life tough for the likes of Marcell Coetzee, Teboho Mohoje and Duane Vermeulen at the breakdowns.

They have a world-class No 8 in captain Sergio Parisse, who has 105 Test caps, and he is partnered by veteran blindside Alessandro Zanni (83 caps) and recent addition Simone Favaro (21 caps) – a traditional fetcher flank.

The Boks, though, won’t be caught napping.

“I know the Italian players as I watch a lot of the European rugby. I find them really intense at the breakdown. You are going to get a real competition there, as they have some world-class players,” said Gray.