Irish may have style but Boks are the best

Ireland coach Andy Farrell must cringe whenever an Englishman, a Welshman, an Italian or a Frenchman declares his Irish team the best in the world. It certainly is doing the Irish no favours ahead of their two-Test series against the Springboks in South Africa in July, when Ireland plays the best team in the world.

The last time I looked, the Springboks were the world champions, a title they have held since 2019 when they hammered England 32-12 in the final. Four years later, the very same Boks, led by the very same Siya Kolisi, edged the All Blacks 12-11 in Paris in a brutal but history-making final.

The history-making belonged to the Springboks, who won the World Cup for the fourth time at their eighth attempt.

Ireland, who entered the 2023 World Cup ranked No 1 in the world, lost 28-24 to the All Blacks in the quarterfinals. It was Ireland’s eighth quarterfinal defeat in 10 tournaments and, in the history of the World Cup, the Irish have never made it to the last four.

When it came to the clutch moments in Paris, Ireland could not produce in the big plays.

The world’s best, world champion Springboks, by contrast, produced every single time in the biggest of plays against France in a one-point quarterfinal, against England in a one-point semifinal, and against the All Blacks in a one-point final.

The Springboks certainly aren’t as easy on the eye as Ireland in terms of style, but this doesn’t make them second-best.

Ireland are a very good side, but they are not exceptional. If they had been they would be the history-makers and not just another squad, part of a failed World Cup history.

For those who argue it is just the World Cup, their team clearly has never won it or played in a final. A nation only truly knows what the World Cup means once they’ve won it.

Ireland may claim a fluctuating world ranking of being No 1, they may dine out on the buffet of playing the likes of Italy and Wales every season, and they will always feel good about their southern hemisphere success in New Zealand for the first and only time in their history in 2022.

This Irish team is not the best in the world... If they were, they would be the world champions

They also have a wonderful recent record in Dublin against Australia, New Zealand and the Springboks. But for Ireland’s golden generation of the past five years, they’ve never been to the home of the world champions, and July’s Test matches in Pretoria and Durban will make for a more challenging experience than playing Italy and Wales in Dublin.

Ireland have beaten France, Italy and Wales in this season’s Six Nations. They have beaten a French team that subsequently should have lost to Scotland and should have lost at home to Italy for the first time in Six Nations history (their only loss to Italy came in 1997).

France still carries the scars of their dramatic home quarterfinal defeat to the Springboks.

Wales are simply a shambles. Ireland have improved monumentally from the charitable and inconsistent rugby nation of 15 years ago, but this Irish team is not the best in the world, and there would be a few teams in history who would smile at the reference of this Irish team being the most complete to have ever played the game. If they were, they would be the world champions.

If one talks about the most complete teams in recent vintage, the Springboks of 2007 and 2009 would be right up there, with a World Cup win and a British & Irish Lions series win.

Richie McCaw’s All Blacks, with back-toback World Cup titles in 2011 and 2015 and a 90% win rate in that time, would be a contender. Equally Kolisi’s back-to-back world champions of 2019 and 2023.

Ireland would be an afterthought — as they should be — given their World Cup history.