The sound of two giant Springbok locks crashing to the turf, in Cape Town, could be heard in Jo'burg.
In less than two weeks, Devin Toner, Iain Henderson, Ultan Dillane & co. will come up against Lood de Jager and Eben Etzebeth, a couple of truly fearsome South African locks.
If you want to know the scale of the challenge facing Ireland's forwards, look no further than these two behemoths.
In what's likely to be their final Super Rugby game before heading into international camp, de Jager's Cheetahs clashed with Etzebeth's Stormers. It was a humdinger of a game and the Stormers emerged 31-24 victors.
During the match, Etzebeth took exception to his opposite number blocking a teammate from making a tackle. What unfolded was an almighty dust-up in which 6-foot-8 Etzebeth eventually got the better of 6-foot-9 de Jager.
Post-match, Cheetahs captain Francois Venter told
Sport 24, "Lood actually owed him [Etzebeth] one from the previous game in Bloemfontein. I think Eben got the better of him there, but I'm proud of Lood. He picked up his game and his presence was felt on the field again."
Neither player picked up a citing so both are still available to face Ireland next month.
