Rassie Erasmus says those players picked for the South Africa A clashes as part of the Springboks’ end-of-year tour have “the perfect opportunity to put up their hands” for the 2023 Rugby World Cup selection.
“This is a very important tour for both teams in terms of measuring how we perform against some of the top countries and clubs in the world and to give a wider group of players an opportunity to play at this level, less than a year out from the Rugby World Cup,” said Erasmus in summing up the composition of a 54-man squad which will travel to Europe in November.
“We have some exciting young talent making a strong statement for their franchises and clubs, and since we are limited to selecting only a specified number of players for the Springbok squad, we would not have been able to see some of them in action, so we are delighted to have this SA ‘A’ tour.
“This team is the closest one can get to represent the Springboks and given the quality of the Munster and Bristol teams and the electric atmospheres expected at those sold-out matches, this will be the perfect opportunity for those players to put up their hands for the World Cup squad.”
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Jacques Nienaber named a largely experienced 35-man Bok squad for Tests against Ireland (5 November), France (12 November), Italy (19 November) and England (26 November), while Mzwandile Stick’s SA A group features nine-capped Springboks and a flush of exciting young players, including the likes of former Junior Springbok skipper Phepsi Buthelezi, scurmhalf Sanele Nohamba, centre Henco van Wyk, utility backs Gianni Lombard and Suleiman Hartzenberg.
Nienaber believes both teams must strike a balance between experience and exposing a few young players to the national team on this tour.
“We are facing three of the top five teams in the world in Ireland, France and England, and we are building our squad for the World Cup next year at the same time, so it was important to maintain consistency in selection while also rewarding a few talented young players for their steady form this season,” he said.
“The fact that a few key players were ruled out due to injury also played a role this process, but we know what we have in those players, and it has granted us an opportunity to see what the next generation of players can do at this level. This will bode well for the Rugby World Cup and beyond.”
Full SA A squad:
Forwards: Simphiwe Matanzima (Bulls), Ntuthuko Mchunu (Sharks), Sazi Sandi (Stormers), Mornay Smith (Bulls), Jan-Hendrik Wessels (Bulls), Joseph Dweba (DHL Stormers), Andre-Hugo Venter (Stormers), Ruan Nortje (Bulls), Phepsi Buthelezi (Sharks), Sikhumbuzo Notshe (Sharks).
Backs: Herschel Jantjies (Stormers), Sanele Nohamba (Lions), Grant Williams (Sharks), Johan Goosen (Bulls), Gianni Lombard (Lions), Aphelele Fassi (Sharks), Cornal Hendricks (Bulls), Suleiman Hartzenberg (Stormers), Henco van Wyk (Lions).
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Photo: @Springboks/Twitter
