Francois Louw has been selected to start for South Africa when they face Ireland this weekend in the opening Test of the Castle Outgoing Tour at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

"I've said from the outset that I'd like to see which of the players can handle the Northern Hemisphere conditions on this tour, as it will be the same for the Rugby World Cup in 2015," said Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer.

"We'll be facing an Ireland team that is never an easy opponent in Dublin. The Springboks have only won one of their last four Tests here and since they lost at Aviva Stadium against South Africa in November 2010, they have recorded a number of good victories at their home ground.

"They will also be desperate to get back to winning ways after winning two of their eight Tests this season, which, to my mind, is not a true reflection of how good the Irish really are. But we're in a similar situation and would like to start this tour on a positive note."

South Africa team to face Ireland

15      Zane Kirchner

14      JP Pietersen  

13      Jaco Taute   

12      Jean de Villiers (captain)     

11      Francois Hougaard   

10      Pat Lambie    

9        Ruan Pienaar 

8        Duane Vermeulen     

7        Willem Alberts

6        Francois Louw

5        Juandré Kruger        

4        Eben Etzebeth         

3        Jannie du Plessis      

2        Adriaan Strauss

1        Tendai Mtawarira     

Replacements

16      Schalk Brits   

17      CJ van der Linde

18      Pat Cilliers     

19      Flip van der Merwe

20      Marcell Coetzee       

21      Morné Steyn 

22      Juan de Jongh

23      Lwazi Mvovo