Handre Pollard set for emotional return to Springbok action after World Cup triumph

This Test also serves as a homecoming for the playmaker who spent seven years with the Bulls, making Loftus Versfeld a place close to his heart.

"Ah, it's lovely, man it's a special place, I keep it dear to my heart, and I spent seven good years at the Bulls, and I love playing at Loftus â- one of the great stadiums in the world to play rugby, especially to play at a sold-out Loftus, a Test match, it is going to be a special day," he said.

Pollard also insisted that despite the Boks' poor record against Ireland of late, they are not focused on settling any scores.

"Confidence in the group is good; we've really been training hard and preparing well, but we're not driven by revenge.

"Of course, we want to break that run of losses and beat them, but we don't focus too much on that.

"For now, it was very technical this week and making sure everything's in place in order to put ourselves in a position to win a rugby match.

"I'm sure that will be spoken about more on Friday, but for now it's been focused on the detail and the rugby stuff."

In the 13-8 loss against Ireland at the World Cup the difference on the day was goal-kicking as the Springboks could have won the game but came up short. Pollard understands that this facet needs to be on point this time around.

"I mean the goal-kicking is the goal-kicking, that's just sort of a separate part of the game; we've got to focus on playing well and giving ourselves those opportunities again," he added.

"If we don't do that there won't be any kicks at goal anyway, so we know the opportunities are there, it was that day in Paris as well, we've just got to be a little bit more composed and try and get something out of every 22 entry we get.

"It's not going to be a lot, I think, it's going to be few and few apart for both teams, so whenever you get that shot, you got to be clinical."

'Very, very impressed'

Pollard also had high praise for Bok newcomer Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu after getting a chance to work alongside him in training. The Stormers star is on the bench for Saturday's clash, ready to provide cover at flyhalf, centre or fullback if required.

"I've been very, very impressed. I've watched him for a couple years now playing for the Stormers, but his understanding of the game, work ethic, and he's an unbelievably skilled player," Pollard added.

"I'm really excited to see how he goes with the longer he stays in the system, the more he plays and the more time he gets in the group.

"His inclusion is a really good thing, and it's just creating more depth in every position as he can play 10, 12, 15, so he is a great guy to have in the squad."

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