In fact, only centre Robbie Henshaw, scrumhalf Conor Murray and prop Tadhg Furlong, of the current group, were on the 2016 tour of South Africa, which Ireland lost 2-1.

“I missed the tour in 2016 unfortunately,” O’Mahony said after Ireland completed their preparations with a captain’s run at St Peter’s school in Johannesburg and not at Loftus Versfeld itself, which is the norm.

“There aren’t many of us who have played a Test in South Africa. Even talking to the young fellas, sometimes you can give them advice about what it’s going to be like, but there are very few of us who can do that.

“It helps if you’ve been in the stadium before, but international rugby is different to URC and there is no point saying it isn’t.

“It’s a different animal, different intensity and you will have a different type of crowd. It will be a big occasion for South Africa coming back here since the World Cup. I imagine it’s going to be an incredible atmosphere for everyone.

“Loftus won’t be comparable to April. It’s the same ground but it will be a different animal.” 

It wouldn’t have been a surprise to O’Mahony then, to hear his Bok counterpart Siya Kolisi, sending out a reminder how happy the world champions are to be back home.

“Just to be able to come home to the people we play for is special,” Kolisi said.

“We’ve said it from the beginning; this is for the people of South Africa and now that we've achieved that (winning the World Cup), this is our first time we can play at home.

“A big game like this, against a team we haven't beaten since 2016, and it's the first time we're playing them back at home again, is really exciting.

“It's a big game and there's not much that can be said anymore. It's all up to tomorrow, we have to deliver. Loftus is a beautiful place to play at and we're looking forward to seeing the people of South Africa, seeing us play after the World Cup.” 

It was delivered with Kolisi’s usual warmth, but the message was ice cold. Ireland are in for a battle. And to stem the onslaught they will have to match the Boks physically and at the set piece.

“The set piece is an unbelievably important part of Test rugby – of any game of rugby really, is set piece,” O’Mahony said. “We will be coming up against the best set piece in world rugby tomorrow. That’s a great challenge for us.

“It’s a huge opportunity for us to show what we’re about and to try and contain the best set piece in the world.” 

With the addition of former All Black Tony Brown and Munster defence coach Jerry Flannery, the Boks are also adding some more international flavour to their homegrown style.

The Boks didn’t give much away in their 41-13 win over Wales two weeks ago, but they have hinted at changes to their attacking style and most importantly, mindset.

“We always do our analysis. It’s very much about us in Test match week, but we give the utmost respect to the opposition in the analysis we do,” O’Mahony said.

“Tony Brown coming into the backroom team with Fla. We certainly had a look at what they did against Wales, but they are only one Test in so it’s hard to predict what’s coming.

“I don’t think they’re going to go away from what they’re incredibly good at. They’re obviously world champions for a reason, and that base for their game isn’t going to change. I’m sure there will be some new things and things curve balls for us, but that’s Test rugby and you have to adapt.”