They are polar opposites in terms of age and international experience at flyhalf and that is why Johnny Sexton says he needs all his wits about him when he marks Damian Willemse in Dublin on Saturday.
At 37, the Leinster and Ireland flyhalf has played 109 Tests for his country and six times for the British & Irish Lions while the 24-year-old Springbok has started at 10 just twice in his 23 Tests while he has only started 11 Tests overall.
That makes Willemse an unknown quantity as an international flyhalf and Sexton told reporters that he is going to have to watch him carefully.
“He’s only played a couple of games at 10 for the Springboks and he’s unpredictable,” said Sexton.
“He’s got fantastic footwork, he has a good kicking game, he’s strong, and he is obviously very fast.
“What makes him difficult to read is that he has some traits that you wouldn’t normally associate with a 10, but he’s an excellent player.”
Saturday’s game pits the No 1-ranked team in the world against the Word Cup holders and Sexton says his team would far rather have the Boks’ title.
“Being ranked No 1 is honestly not something we talk about,” Sexton said. “This might sound stupid but it’s not our goal to become No 1 in the world.
“It matters in sports like golf and tennis but in rugby, it is about winning the World Cup.
“To be No 1 in the world, you need to win the World Cup, that’s where the goals are.”
Sexton stressed that it is winning trophies in rugby that matters.
“Obviously you want to be the best in Europe, you want to win the Six Nations, and most of all you want to win the World Cup,” he said.
“It’s nothing to do with being No 1, and I don't think many teams read too much into the rankings.
“I know the other teams will probably refer to us now (as the No 1 team), trying to put pressure on us, and us winning in New Zealand (in June) has got teams asking ‘how are we going to mess up this Ireland team? How do we combat them?'.
“So we’ve got to evolve a little bit and make sure we bring something new to the table.
"If we got a win on Saturday it would be great, if we don't then we learn from it,” he said.
“We're going to learn about South Africa, we're going to see what it's like to play against this type of team, we haven't played against them in a few years and I think it's what we need,” he added.
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