Aphelele Fassi closes in on 3,000 career metres
Ireland meet South Africa at Lansdowne Road, Sunday 3:40am (Nations Championship). Ireland arrive on a 4-game winning streak.
Form
Ireland have won four of their last five and most recently beat Scotland 43–21.
South Africa have won three of their last five and most recently lost to Australia 38–42.
Ireland arrive on a 4-game winning streak.
Head to head
These sides have met 8 times on our records since 2016: Ireland 4, South Africa 4.
Last time out (2025), South Africa won 24–13 at Aviva Stadium.
Biggest margin between these two: Ireland by 35 points in 2017 (38–3).
Players to watch
For Ireland, watch James Lowe (72 metres a game in 2026) and Tommy O'Brien (50 metres a game, 3 tries in 2026).
For South Africa, watch Kurt-Lee Arendse (56.3 metres a game, 2 tries in 2026) and Aphelele Fassi (29.5 metres a game in 2026).
Milestone watch
Aphelele Fassi is 30 metres short of 3,000 for their career.
Canan Moodie is 1 metres short of 1,000 for their career.
What the numbers say
On form and history, Ireland have the edge.
Written automatically from Lineball's own match and player database. Not betting advice.
