World champions South Africa will enter Saturday's first ever Test at the new Aviva Stadium against Ireland as slight underdogs when the two sides clash in Dublin.

The Irish will want to open their new home with a win over an injury-hit Springbok side, whose end-of-year tour looks destined for failure before it's even kicked off.

South Africa arrive in the Emerald Isle with just one win in six games, a coach under instruction to improve results and one of the most untried centre pairing in recent Springbok memory. On top of that, they are missing 13 key players, including captain John Smit, who are all injured.

To make matters worse, Ireland have had the wood on the men in green and gold in the last decade - South Africa's last win over their northern hemisphere counterparts coming six years ago (2004) in Cape Town, and you have to go back to 2000 for the last Bok win in Guinness country.

South Africa's five-match trip is crucial for coach Peter de Villiers to restore his employers' faith in him after a disastrous Tri-Nations title defence, where South Africa conceded 22 tries in one of their worst campaigns in the tournament's 15-year history.

The poor results have left a dark cloud hovering over De Villiers with most pundits adamant the coach must go if he does not deliver at least two Test victories this month.

And whilst De Villiers' quest to make amends has been hampered by a long casualty list, the truth of the matter is that South Africa failed to produce the goods when they were at full-strength which will be a concern for Bok fans.

However, this Grand Slam tour posts more than just the obvious challenge of De Villiers' team beating all four home nations in one go. Torn between achieving a Grand Slam for the first time since 1961 and taking measures to ensure SA have the best chance of defending their crown at next year's World Cup, the Bok coach must now use these four games as a fact-finding mission to get his cards in order for New Zealand 2011.

And if the Bok line-up chosen to tackle the Irish on Saturday is anything to go by, then De Villiers may be heading in the same direction as his predecessor Jake White who took a beating at the old Lansdowne Road one year out from winning the wee yellow cup.

In fact, the similarities then and now are quite incredible.

In 2006, White took a depleted side overseas with an up and coming star in the form of Francois Steyn - a 19-year old Sharks pivot who made his Bok debut out of position on the wing. Wing Bryan Habana filled in at centre, with another debutant at the back (Bevan Fortuin) to complete an inexperienced backline.

Fast forward four years and De Villiers has taken a dwindling side overseas with an up and coming star in the making in the form of Patrick Lambie - a 20-year old Sharks fly-half who is set to make his debut off the bench out of position at inside centre. Full-back Zane Kirchner will fill in at centre, with newbie Bjorn Basson starting just his second game out wide.

And if the final scoreline is to follow suit too - the Boks are in for a hiding.

Indeed, Irish eyes will certainly be smiling at the thought of knocking down their visitors down a peg or two.

Ireland are looking to halt a three-Test losing streak that goes back to the final match of this year's Six Nations, a surprise home defeat against Scotland.

It is in stark contrast to Ireland's fortunes a year ago, when they entered the November Tests as Grand Slam champions before going on to draw with Australia and beat the Springboks.

And with the World Cup now less than 12 months away, Ireland will be well aware that they cannot afford to be extend the current sequence of defeats much further.

However, Ireland are targeting a fourth successive victory over South Africa and they no longer enter the fixture with trepidation.

Adding extra motivation to continue their dominance is their determination to sound a triumphant note on their debut appearance at the redeveloped Lansdowne Road.

"It will be physical. An international is like a final because both sides want to get that win under their belt," said Ireland coach Declan Kidney.

"The physicality will be huge and it means a huge amount to be back at Lansdowne Road.

"This is like coming home and it's hugely special to be a part of that.

"It's the oldest international ground in the world and that's a huge sentence to say."

Ones to watch:

For Ireland: With a Bok backline just waiting to be exposed, expect Irish backs to take full advantage, with Tommy Bowe in the form of his life and the returning Luke Fitzgerald lining up for his first Test appearance in a year and who will have a lot of lost time to make for.

For South Africa: Will he sink or swim? Zane Kirchner has stolen the limelight somewhat from possible debutant Patrick Lambie, but for all the wrong reasons. The Bulls star didn't exactly set the world alight in the number fifteen jersey for South Africa, and didn't even make the original training or touring squad until injuries opened up the door. It's a risky move and one that's set for failure with specialist centre in the form of Adi Jacobs - albeit lacking match-fitness - sitting on the bench.

Head to head: The two packs. South Africa's only hope of winning this one will rely on their forward power and keeping the ball away from the Irish backs who will be just itching to pounce! Deon Stegmann has been picked to counter the ball-poaching proficiency of Ireland fetcher David Wallace, and the old heads of Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha will be tasked with doing the business in the air - an area the Boks failed miserably at against Ireland's tall timber last time out.

Previous results:
2009: Ireland won 15-10 at Croke Park, Dublin
2006: Ireland won 32-15 at Lansdowne Road
2004: Ireland won 17-12 at Lansdowne Road
2004: South Africa won 26-17 at Newlands
2004: South Africa won 31-17 at Vodacom Park, Bloemfontein
2000: South Africa won 28-18 at Lansdowne Road
1998: South Africa won 27-13 at Lansdowne Road
1998: South Africa won 33-0 at Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
1998: South Africa won 37-13 at Vodacom Park, Bloemfontein

Prediction: We just can't see a Springbok side devoid of form and established combinations ending a 10-year losing streak in Dublin. Ireland to win by ten points.

The teams:

Ireland: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Brian O'Driscoll (c), 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Luke Fitzgerald, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 David Wallace, 6 Stephen Ferris, 5 Mick O'Driscoll, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 Tony Buckley, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements: 16 Sean Cronin, 17 Tom Court, 18 Donncha Ryan, 19 Denis Leamy, 20 Peter Stringer, 21 Ronan O'Gara, 22 Keith Earls.

South Africa: 15 Gio Aplon, 14 Bjorn Basson, 13 Zane Kirchner, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Victor Matfield (c), 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 CJ van der Linde, 18 Flip van der Merwe, 19 Keegan Daniel, 20 François Hougaard, 21 Adi Jacobs, 22 Patrick Lambie.

Date: Saturday, 6 November
Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Kick-off: 17:30 GMT
Weather forecast: A high of 9°C and a northwester of 28 km/h, 20 per cent chance of rain. The temperature is set to drop to 2°C, -2°C with windchill.
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees: Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand), Keith Brown (New Zealand)
TMO: Hugh Watkins (Wales)

By Dave Morris

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