{"id":289078,"date":"2023-09-18T09:34:08","date_gmt":"2023-09-18T09:34:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/?p=289078"},"modified":"2023-09-18T09:34:08","modified_gmt":"2023-09-18T09:34:08","slug":"rob-herring-says-family-all-supporting-ireland-against-native-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-union\/rob-herring-says-family-all-supporting-ireland-against-native-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Rob Herring says family all supporting Ireland against native South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/p>\n
South Africa-born Ireland hooker Rob Herring insists there will be no split loyalties among his family and friends when his side face the Springboks at the Rugby World Cup in Paris.<\/p>\n
Andy Farrell\u2019s men are seeking to secure a quarter-final spot with victory over the defending champions on Saturday evening following bonus-point wins over Romania and Tonga.<\/p>\n
Herring\u2019s mother and two of his three sisters have travelled from Cape Town for the tournament, while a number of his friends will be at Stade de France for the standout fixture in Pool B.<\/p>\n
The 33-year-old Ulster player has twice before lined up against his native country \u2013 Dublin victories in 2017 and last November \u2013 but will do so on the biggest stage for the first time.<\/p>\n
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And he is in no doubt about where his relatives\u2019 allegiances lie.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re all supporting Ireland,\u201d Herring told the PA news agency.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll of my friends that are coming over and my family, they\u2019re all in Irish jerseys so there will be no divided support. They will be fully behind us.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will be great. I\u2019ve played against them a few times now and it\u2019s always a good battle.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just want to be a part of the squad, contribute any way I can. It will be a good atmosphere, we\u2019ll have our Irish fans there in full force.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery week we think we need to step things up and it\u2019s going to be like that going into the long run of the competition. We\u2019ll keep getting better and it will be another big challenge for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Herring, who qualified for Ireland through a grandfather from Belfast, missed out on selection for the World Cup in 2015 and 2019.<\/p>\n
https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/Cwk75sxIyl6<\/p>\n
He is already making up for lost time, having claimed tries in the 82-8 opening-weekend win over Romania and Saturday\u2019s 59-16 success over Tonga.<\/p>\n
\u201cI keep saying to myself, I\u2019ve got to enjoy these moments,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve missed out before and I\u2019ve worked so hard to be here over the last four years so I\u2019m going to put in big performances when I get the opportunity and other than that I\u2019m ready to take it all in and enjoy it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis group of boys, we love playing for each other so it\u2019s a great team to be a part of and hopefully we\u2019re going to go into the deep end of the comp.\u201d<\/p>\n
Herring\u2019s rival hooker Dan Sheehan could return to contention for the South Africa showdown.<\/p>\n
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The 25-year-old has been sidelined since sustaining a foot injury in last month\u2019s warm-up win over England but Ireland\u2019s coaching staff are confident he will be available.<\/p>\n
Back-rower Jack Conan (foot) and prop Finlay Bealham, who was forced off by a head knock against Tonga, will also be assessed ahead of the visit to the French capital.<\/p>\n
Source: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sign up to our free sport newsletter for all the latest news on everything from cycling to boxing Sign up to our free sport email […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":289077,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n