Andy Farrell says he has yet to rule out any of Ireland’s injured players from the November clash with the world-champion Springboks.
The No 1-ranked team in the world begin their end-of-year Tests against the Boks in Dublin on 5 November, with Fiji and Australia also visiting the Aviva Stadium next month.
The Bok match will be the first Test for the Irish since they completed an historic 2-1 series win over the All Blacks in New Zealand.
Farrell, however, faces several tricky decisions over whether to pitch players who are at varying stages of recovery into an encounter with a Bok team renowned for all-round physicality.
“Some players don’t need that much game time. Some players are able to just hit it straight from the word go, some players need five or six games to hit the ground running,” the Ireland coach said on Tuesday.
“It’s up to us to assess that. We are not a massive playing group as well, so needs must be addressed at times. Certainly, nobody is ruled out at this stage.”
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Fullback Hugo Keenan, scrumhalf Jamison Gibson-Park and prop Tadhg Furlong are among those trying to overcome injuries, although Keenan and Gibson-Park will be reintegrated in training this week.
Ulster’s national squad contingent of Robert Baloucoune, James Hume, Rob Herring, Michael Lowry, Stuart McCloskey, Tom O’Toole, Nick Timoney and Kieran Treadwell returned from South Africa on Monday.
The Irish Rugby Football Union said “they will be managed over the coming days” following recent illness issues experienced by Ulster on a trip to South Africa for Vodacom United Rugby Championship games.
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Ireland have won six of the past 10 Tests between the northern- hemisphere nation and the Boks, but Farrell is taking nothing for granted ahead of next week’s encounter, which has added significance given the two teams are in the same pool at the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France.
“They have got a unique way of playing and they are all on the same page, that’s their strength, isn’t it?” he said. “They know their point of difference and go after it hard and have been very successful in doing that.”
“To get back up to speed for that first game and be at our best is where we want to be, and I think we all know it is where we have to be coming up against a good team like South Africa.”
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