RUGBY ANALYST:Tomorrow Ireland prop Tony Buckley has a golden opportunity for genuine stardom, writes LIAM TOLAND

MUSHY AND the Beast! For all the IRFU ticketing policy shenanigans for this autumn series and loath as I am to admit it, it is almost worth the tidy face value to see these two lads, crouch, touch, pause and engage.

From my first article this season I suggested the most important man in Irish rugby will be Tony Buckley. Tomorrow he has a golden opportunity for genuine stardom. His opponent Tendai “Beast” Mtawarira is no shrinking violet but Buckley’s predecessor John Hayes has faced stiffer and excelled. Where opportunity meets preparation that is where you find the next big thing. At 30 years of age, tomorrow is Buckley’s big opportunity. He needs it but his team really need him.

With those two beauties up front it is a shame another beast, Schalk Burger, has failed to make it. The Currie Cup final ensured a further loss to the Springbok’s side. The Springboks are down numbers, 13 at the last count. But the modern Grand Slam tour has evolved beyond the best 15 tourists togging out to slay the home nations.

South Africa are timing their arrival in Ireland for the captain’s run and then the match. Over the passing seasons they have been bent on new blood entering the fray. Hence, the injuries, although not ideal, are almost immaterial but will influence tactics. The loss of Burger, the 2004 world player of the year, is Ireland’s loss as he is an error machine and has slipped back badly as a tour de force. It would have been very special to witness Stephen Ferris take his crown. Instead Ferris faces Juan Smith with Deon Stegmann at openside but more of that anon.

Last weekend the Currie Cup was decided by two polar-opposite sides, Western Province’s back line set to outwit the Sharks pack. Unsurprisingly the Sharks won out where it always matters and tomorrow will be no different. Worryingly the Springboks look a tad like the Sharks with a band-aid back line. Ireland’s back line will worry them which will force a specific tactic from the Boks. The Springboks are superb around the ruck as they attack very close, attempting to expose the shoddy defence and the poor pillar position. Pace of the ball is crucial but referee Nigel Owens will have a very different understanding than Craig Joubert’s interpretation of the breakdown last week which was extremely interesting.

Over the weeks keeping an eye on South African rugby has been a pleasure. But what have we learned? South Africans expect to compete for the ball. This competition does not exist in Ireland. The breakdown is much cleaner in South Africa and defences do manage to get their hand on the ball. In France it is a war zone. Mick O’Driscoll and Donncha O’Callaghan must mimic the French and counter-ruck with such ferocity it achieves two major outcomes, firstly a poor quality ball for scrumhalf Ruan Pienaar. More importantly a counter-ruck forces more Springboks into the breakdown to secure the ball. In a sense, to use a military term, the counter-ruck becomes a “force multiplier”. One powerful front-five player, Buckley for example, can draw four Springboks out of attack and into the dead ruck. Hence numerical advantage to the Irish defence.

Once won, Pienaar at scrumhalf will lead the ball around the corner of the ruck with big runners coming around blind. Don’t just expect your typical meat heads carrying. Bryan Habana tends to become very impatient and will pop up off Pienaar. As legs tire he will line break, not like Shane Williams of Wales dancing through gaps. Habana picks very hard lines and his pace puts him through. With so much change in the back line the Springboks’ half backs will carry huge weight. I’m not yet convinced Pienaar is the Ulster special one, he looked positively disinterested against Munster.

In Burger’s place arrives Stegmann, a real threat to David Wallace. Wallace will not make ground as he did against London Irish some weeks back. So what will he do and could Seán O’Brien not achieve the same? Wallace made an extraordinary entrance to the Madejski Stadium, turning the match and creating the crucial score. He did so by breaking through a teak-tough Irish defence. Vintage Wallace but Irish at that stage were heading towards an impressive 149 tackles (versus Munster’s 49). They missed 19 tackles, six of which came from Wallace’s brilliant run. My point – too much should not be read into this line break as London Irish were exhausted on Wallace’s arrival. That said, precious few in world rugby could mimic such a run, but O’Brien is one of them. Wallace is far from a spent force but late entry to the game would bring more benefits with O’Brien to start.

The Springbok game is built on bully-boy tactics. The obvious defence against the Bakkies Botha et al is a sterling defence. But that’ll just slow them down a tad. An offensive defence which includes smashing on the gain line with our front five shoring up the middle and giving Gordon D’Arcy a lighter load is crucial. But our front five must not stop there. They have to carry the ball, offload the ball and support the ball carrier, providing options off ruck and loose play.

This autumn I would like to know are we closer to Berlin than Boston, Armagh to Kerry or England to New Zealand. Where does our rugby lie ahead of the Rugby World Cup 2011? To illustrate my point I’ll highlight two British and Irish Lions Test hookers. Keith Wood won 58 Irish caps and Shane Byrne 41. Both were high achievers and crucial to Ireland but both were very different in style. With Seán Cronin venturing into international rugby which player should he emulate? Is this a fair question and with the RWC around the corner what should others be asking themselves?

Many have likened D’Arcy and his symbiotic relationship with Brian O’Driscoll to the clichéd Batman and Robin but that would simplify the power of their relationship. For many years O’Driscoll has brought a quality, a pace and a comfort to the most demanding of locations to defend on the pitch. When Ireland struggle in the front five, as they will do at times tomorrow, watch the ease at which O’Driscoll can command the 250 metre square box of the outside centre. But as danger drifts into O’Driscoll’s box keep a very close eye on D’Arcy. For D’Arcy reads the ever-evolving environment of Springbok running and makes decisions based on a knowledge honed over many wet sessions in Donnybrook. As D’Arcy runs out for his well-earned 50th cap ask O’Driscoll who does he want inside him when the Springboks start running.