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Fiji 'did Ireland a favour' before South Africa game

Former South Africa head coach Jake White says his Fiji side "did Ireland a favour" in Saturday's Nations Championship match before they face the Springboks in Dublin next week.

✦ Extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting•From 3 sources•1 min read•Updated November 15, 2026, 3:14 AM UTC
Key points
  • "I know how South Africa operate and they would've taken that scrum there, they would have backed the fact that they wanted to get [Ireland] a yellow card," said White.
  • "The five-metre line-outs that we didn't take opportunities in, and the five-metre scrum and tap penalties, South Africa will turn those into points and I'm sure that Andy [Farrell] and the players will be aware of that.
  • The Ulster back row came off the bench and made two huge carries before being forced off with a head injury which rules the 23-year-old out of featuring against South Africa.

"We were letting Ireland have the ball and we were happy to defend against them and we were happy for them to try to outwork us." Asked to assess Ireland and South Africa's highly-anticipated meeting on Saturday (16:40 GMT), White added: "Well, I think we probably did Ireland a favour today.

Additional details
  • Fiji lost 43-15 to Ireland at Aviva Stadium having frustrated Andy Farrell's side during a closely contested first half.
  • "We were playing a little bit like South Africa to be honest, I think that sums it up," said the 62-year-old.
  • "As far as the physical nature of the game, I thought they were winning collisions, they were good in the air and on the floor, running really physically through the line and the breakdown was pretty good.
  • "All in all, we need to understand that wins here when you're under a bit of pressure, they're all pretty precious." While Ireland struggled to click at times, Farrell was impressed by James McNabney's shorter-than-expected debut.
  • "Pleased to get the win, especially the scoreline, it flattered us a little bit but having said that you've got to work for those points and after 25 minutes you're down by five points against a side that's playing pretty well," said Farrell.

How this summary was made: extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting. It is drawn only from the reporting of the sources listed below — read the originals for full detail. How we summarize →

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Every article behind this summary — 3 articles from 3 outlets

Yahoo SportsNovember 15, 2026, 3:14 AM UTC → BBC NewsNovember 15, 2026, 12:29 AM UTC → Sky SportsNovember 14, 2026, 10:42 PM UTC →

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