The Ireland v South Africa rivalry is rekindled this summer in a two-test series, with Andy Farrell's Irish side facing the Springboks in Pretoria and Durban over the next two weekends.
Perhaps not a traditionally vicious rivalry in the same way as Ireland's with England, it has nonetheless been whipped up by fiery comments around recent encounters - mainly from the South African side.
The ever-vocal Rassie Erasmus has been responsible for many of those outbursts but, perhaps more than any other remark, it was Eben Etzebeth's earlier this year which drew the ire of the Irish rugby public.
A titan of South African rugby, Etzebeth lost himself a few supporters on these shores in April when he accused the Ireland team of arrogant behaviour in the aftermath of their meeting with the Springboks at last year's Rugby World Cup.
Appearing on The Rugby Pod, Etzebeth alleged that upwards of 12 Irish players had approached him after the game and said something along the lines of "See you in the final."
The 32-year-old's claims were not exactly received warmly, with pros from both Ireland and beyond shutting down any accusations of arrogance from the Irish team.
Ahead of the two teams' reunion in South Africa this weekend, Etzebeth faced the media on Tuesday. He was, of course, asked to comment on his accusation and the reaction to it.
His response - claiming that he felt "targeted" by the Irish media - does not hold up.
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Ireland v South Africa: Etzebeth and Rassie play the same tune
When asked today to expand on his April comments, Eben Etzebeth claimed that he had been taken "out of context" and "targeted" in the Irish media response.
I would say the Irish media definitely targeted me after that incident.
I said what I said. I see a lot of them said, ‘How could you count exactly to that certain amount?’ You obviously give an estimate. It was definitely at least six or seven and was not more than 20 of them. So, I just gave an estimate.
We will never, after a game, tell a team that we’ll see you in the final if there is so much rugby still to be played. Maybe that was their way of saying that we are a good side and that we might make it all the way through.
But people interpreted what I said wrong and took it out of context.
The Sharks second-row may allege that the response to his comments was unfair but, if one reads them back once again, you can see that he was in no way misquoted or mistreated.
Etzebeth himself used the word "arrogant" to describe the alleged behaviour of the Irish team in April and, understandably, that was the line which was picked up by the media.
There is of course additional context to Etzebeth's extended quotes but, in the grand scheme of things, he did absolutely call out what he saw as arrogance from Andy Farrell's team.
To allege now that he was "targeted" by the Irish media appears to be a cheap attempt to play down his comments. By alleging that he was taken out of context, it appears as though Etzebeth is attempting to bury the quotes in the past.
Of course, Etzebeth has not been the only player to allege the Irish media - or team - of misconduct in the buildup to this two-test series. Former Munster man Damian de Allende has said he is out to prove a point to an Irish press he felt had disrespected the South African team in previous years.
Elsewhere, Rassie Erasmus has been up to his usual shenanigans, while Cheslin Kolbe has also hinted that South Africa have seen narratives which they don't like and are excited to shut down.
Once again, we've seen the Boks up the ante by accusing their opponents of verbosity and arrogance - while doing much of the talking themselves.
In a way, you have to love it, and the ante has indeed been upped. Ireland face South Africa in the first test from Pretoria on Saturday, with kick-off at 4pm Irish time.
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