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Joe Schmidt makes five changes to Ireland team to face South Africa

Joe Schmidt the head coach of Ireland
Image: Joe Schmidt has made five changes to his Ireland team

Joe Schmidt has made five changes to the Ireland team to face South Africa in their second series Test on Saturday in Johannesburg.

Ireland made history last weekend by defeating the Springboks 20-26 on their own soil for the first time ever but that has not stopped Schmidt changing his line-up.

Blindside flanker CJ Stander is unavailable after receiving a one-match ban for the red card he received in the first Test, when he collided with Pat Lambie and caught the out-half's head with his hip.

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CJ Stander was show a red card for this horror collision on Pat Lambie.

His place in the team is taken by another South African, Connacht's Quinn Roux, with Ulster forward Iain Henderson moving from the second row to number six to accommodate him.

Elsewhere in the pack, Tadhg Furlong comes in for Leinster team-mate Mike Ross at tighthead prop, while in the back row Rhys Ruddock also replaces a Leinster team-mate, Jordi Murphy, at number seven.

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In the backs, Stuart Olding replaces Luke Marshall at inside centre, while Craig Gilroy comes in for Keith Earls on the left wing to make it seven Ulstermen in the starting line-up.

Only Ian Madigan and Kieran Marmion return from last week's bench, with Richardt Strauss, David Kilcoyne, Finlay Bealham, Donnacha Ryan and Tiernan O'Halloran all brought into the 23 after sitting out last week's win.

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Despite ringing the changes, Schmidt dismissed any notion that his team selection for Saturday's game indicates he is keeping something in reserve for the final outing in Port Elizabeth.

Ruddock wary of Springboks
Ruddock wary of Springboks

Ireland's Rhys Ruddock ready for second Test battle with Springboks

"That's probably an insult to the players that have come in to be honest," he said when asked by a local journalist if his team selection indicated he was holding out for a decider in Port Elizabeth.

"The players who have come in, I'm really hoping that they will pleasantly surprise just as the players who were probably undervalued a little bit last week.

"They certainly showed their mettle and it's a huge challenge to those players who have come in to try to match what the players put into the game last week.

"We have no doubt that South Africa would have benefited from that hit-out.

South Africa head coach Allister Coetzee, pictured while in charge of the Stormers in 2015
Image: Allister Coetzee suffered defeat in his first game in charge of South Africa

"It is very difficult for someone like Allister (Coetzee) to come in and implement his strategy in the space of maybe half a dozen training sessions and so each time they play together, you know if we were waiting for Port Elizabeth, they're likely to be better again.

 "So, I think it's important that we don't wait, that we try to grasp the moment that we can and that moment is this weekend's game at Ellis Park."

Ireland: 15 Jared Payne, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Stuart Olding, 11 Craig Gilroy, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Conor Murray; 1 Jack McGrath, 2 Rory Best (captain), 3 Tadhg Furlong, 4 Devin Toner, 5 Quinn Roux, 6 Iain Henderson, 7 Rhys Ruddock, 8 Jamie Heaslip

Replacements: 16 Richardt Strauss, 17 David Kilcoyne, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 Donnacha Ryan, 20 Sean Reidy, 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Tiernan O'Halloran

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