THE build-up to this afternoon's meeting of Ireland and South Africa in Croke Park has been Don King-esque.

It has been billed as a world title bout, a hemisphere showdown between the best of the north and the southern kings with plenty of trash-talk from media and pundits laced with phrases such as "bad blood" and "grudge match".

The All Blacks reclaiming their No 1 spot in the world rankings and South Africa's mugging in the south of France have taken some of the sheen of such hype, but the preamble has been thoroughly entertaining, all part of the fun ahead of what should be a compelling encounter.

Declan Kidney is not a man for hyperbole but even the continually calm Ireland coach admits that his pulse has increased in velocity ahead of this one.

"We set out to deal with every game the same, but for some I suppose the adrenaline is bound to flow that little bit more," said Kidney at Ireland's pre-match weigh-in yesterday.

"There's nothing like playing at Croke Park in front of a full house. You want to play well and you're up against the best in the world. Our preparation is the same but the adrenaline does flow that little bit easier for this game."

The players in both camps have been at pains to play down the bad-blood factor, but there is undeniably an extra edge to this clash with such a sizeable Irish contingent on last summer's Lions tour -- and more who were due to travel but couldn't -- each of whom has a point to prove.

For full-back Rob Kearney, winger Tommy Bowe, flanker David Wallace, No 8 Jamie Heaslip and centre Brian O'Driscoll, it is the frustration of playing superbly in the Tests and seeing series fulfilment denied by a combination of poor finishing (Ugo Monye) and poor officiating (Schalk Burger seeing yellow instead of red after blatantly attacking the eye of Luke Fitzgerald).

Fitzgerald, sadly, is not present today but Burger is and he should receive a warm Croke Park welcome this afternoon. For hooker Jerry Flannery and scrum-half Tomas O'Leary, today is an opportunity to address the agony of having their Lions dreams destroyed by injury while flanker Stephen Ferris has equal motivation after his certain Test selection was similarly spoiled.

Keith Earls has benefited hugely from his Lions experience with the midweek team but never got a crack at the Springboks and he could produce something special today. Paul O'Connell proved to be an excellent Lions captain and could have been a winning one had the party had greater time together in the run-in to the Tests.

He and his long-time second-row partner Donncha O'Callaghan (another whose excellent tour form was not rewarded with Test selection) are a powerful combination but one that is not rated by opponents Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha and the Munster pair will be out to make a statement.

There is enough incentive in that lot to start a war and this is an occasion likely to be defined by the ferocity of contact.

There has been a lot of ill-advised talk this week of the world champions being "on their last legs" and that they are "there for the taking". Yes, it is the final entry in the Springboks' calendar -- their 12th international of 2009 -- after a mentally and physically exhausting schedule which has seen one big international challenge follow hard upon another.

Yes, they have an end-of-year bash planned for Dublin followed by a long holiday break to look forward to and an injury list that has robbed them of such notable performers as Bismark Du Plessis and Pierre Spies.

But this is South Africa's chance to end the year in fitting fashion and, while they knew that overcoming France in their Toulousian bear-pit was always going to be a giant ask, they have long lined up the Grand Slam champions' scalp as a worthy trophy for the bulging mantelpiece in their hunting lodge.

Furthermore, the fact that they have lost on their last two trips to Dublin and are still bitter about the 2004 defeat -- after Ronan O'Gara's contentious tap-and-go try -- adds fuel to their fire

Kidney and his captain were never going to be lured into the 'there for the taking' talk and O'Driscoll is expecting a monumental challenge.

"If you can't get yourselves up for the last game of the season, you're in trouble," said O'Driscoll. "That's all they have to focus on, one 80 minutes. We just see it as the third of our three Test matches and a chance to finish 2009 on a high.

"They are the reigning world champions and we continually say you want to pit yourselves against the best teams in the world as often as you possibly can and any time they come to your home ground, you want to produce your best rugby and your best performances."

Bolstered by their Six Nations success and unbeaten 2009 record, Ireland have the belief and capacity to secure a famous victory.

Les Kiss has ensured that Ireland's defence is extremely hard to break down while Gert Smal will have the line-out operating smoothly as well as providing the Irish pack with valuable insider information on their opponents.

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They also possess a superior back three, an excellent back row and, in O'Driscoll, a player with a proven ability for hurting Springboks. So, plenty for Irish supporters to be optimistic about, but the handbrake skid before a headlong plunge into predicting an Irish victory arrives with the aforementioned Springbok motivation and their capacity to boss two key areas.

Cian Healy is a fantastic player and destined for a long international career as Ireland loose-head prop, but today is just his second international in a position where experience is critical. His opponent, Brendon Botha, may have come into the side via a late, injury-enforced call-up but the Ulster prop is the best scrummaging tight-head on this island and arguably on this continent.

Then there is Heinrich Brussow. There is a theory that the dynamic flanker can be nullified at the breakdown and that he is a one-trick pony; but it's a hell of a trick and one that played a key role in South Africa's Lions and Tri-Nations successes. Brussow's capacity to snaffle turnovers could be the deciding factor -- if he stays on the right side of referee Nigel Owens -- but Kidney, Smal and Kiss have been waiting for him and they will have a plan.

It's an incredibly difficult result to call but if Ireland can negate Brussow, secure their own scrum ball and Jonathan Sexton can negotiate another step up , it is possible to plump for an Irish victory - helped by Owens' remarkable role as good-luck charm for Irish rugby.

It is not a phrase we are overly fond of but O'Driscoll's challenge to Matfield in the second Test in Pretoria was the YouTube moment of the Lions series and sums up the anticipation for today's battle: "Bring it on ... bring it on."

Verdict: Ireland -- just.

- Hugh Farrelly

Irish Independent