Ireland assistant coach Mike Catt has dismissed the bubbling rivalry with South Africa as “white noise” and declared the stir “means nothing” to the squad ahead of their summer tour.
Andy Farrell’s squad will face the Springboks at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria on Saturday, July 6 before a second Test match at Kings Park in Durban seven days later.
The narrative in the background has continued to pit the two sides as bitter rivals, with last year’s Rugby World Cup seeing Ireland get the better of the Jacques Nienaber-led side at the pool stage before the Springboks ultimately went on to lift the Webb Ellis Cup.