All of the focus may be on the Six Nations and World Cup next year but Ireland are looking beyond that and a three-match summer tour to South Africa has been confirmed for 2016.

The host cities for the three Tests will not be known until next summer as Joe Schmidt takes Ireland to South Africa for the first time since 2004.

The tour will be Ireland’s fifth to South Africa, aside from the 1995 World Cup, but it will be the first time they have played three Tests. Ireland, who beat the Springboks for the fifth time at the Aviva Stadium recently, have never defeated them in South Africa in seven attempts.

Ireland went down 24-8 in Cape Town in 1961 in their first visit and the other tours were all two-match Tests in 1981, 1998 and 2004, all of which ended in losses.

The closest Ireland have come to victory in South Africa was a 12-10 defeat in Durban during the controversial 1981 tour, which included a 25-15 loss in Cape Town.

Meanwhile, former All Blacks captain Sean Fitzpatrick said Ireland are reaping the benefits of having their players centrally contracted.

Ireland’s rise to third place in the rankings is in contrast to the slump being endured by England, who fell to their fifth defeat in a row when they went down 31-28 to South Africa on Saturday.

Fitzpatrick, speaking at the IRB World Cup Conference in London, said such results were going to continue because of burnout issues in England and France as players try to serve country and privately owned clubs.

Fitzpatrick said countries with centrally contracted players, including Ireland and New Zealand, were in a position to reap the rewards. “It means Joe Schmidt has control of the players at all times and that they get looked after.”