South Africa "A" will play the B&I Lions tonight in a Castle Lager Lions Series match at Cape Town Stadium @ 20h00.
One can not help thinking that the home team has little to gain and a lot to lose. South Africa needs game time for their stars to prepare for the Test series, however, a loss tonight could be almost "fatal" for their hopes for victory in the Test Series.
Prediction - South Africa "A" should win this but with a very small margin. The Cell C Sharks showed how to beat the Lions, now it is up to the players and coaching staff to show that they have the talent and will.
Springbok assistant coach Mzwandile Stick stressed the importance of building on the Springboks’ performance in their 40-9 victory against Georgia two weeks ago.
“It is important for us to improve on our performance against Georgia in this match,” said Stick. “There are boxes we want to tick, for example starting the match better, and delivering an 80-minute performance.
“This is a physical British & Irish Lions team and we know if we give them a sniff, they will punish us, so it is vital that we pitch up from the first minute.”
Lukhanyo Am, who will captain South Africa ‘A’ said “We are far off from where we were in the Rugby World Cup final, and any opportunity to get closer to the desired level before our first Test match will be welcomed.”
B&I Lions coach Warren Gatland said that he could not be happier with the star-studded South Africa A team named to take on his British & Irish Lions side as he looks to learn from their 2009 series defeat.
“We’ve seen the team that they’ve announced, and it looks pretty strong. They’ve probably gone with as strong a team as they possibly can given that they still have players unavailable,” he said.
Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber named 18 Rugby World Cup winners in a strong South Africa ‘A’ team captained by Lukhanyo Am for their clash with the British & Irish Lions.
Nienaber has handed over the coaching reigns to Erasmus as he continues to self-isolate after testing positive for COVID-19. Nienaber said: “Rassie has been hands-on in our coaching and team selection meetings, he helped formulate our team structures, and he knows the players and coaching staff well, so it’s not an issue to adapt.”
Uncapped Joseph Dweba (hooker) and Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg (lock) were also among the 25 named – including 10 replacements from which the final eight will be confirmed closer to kick off.
The starting XV features five players who started in the Springboks’ Test against Georgia a little over two weeks ago while Morne Steyn, who kicked the penalty goal to win a series against the Lions 12 years ago, makes his reacquaintance with the famous red jersey.
“We’re pleased to be able to name a quality team with a number of experienced players despite the challenges in the last week, which included the entire squad being confined to their rooms as part of the team’s preventative self-isolation measures,” said Nienaber.
“We may have lost our captain Siya (Kolisi), but there is a good leadership core within this group with the likes of Morné, Willie (le Roux), Eben (Etzebeth), Trevor (Nyakane) and Steven (Kitshoff), among others, whose experience will be invaluable in a match against a quality British & Irish Lions outfit.
“Players such as Joseph and Nicolaas will also get their first taste of running out in the green and gold at senior level in what will mark a memorable occasion in their careers and we are excited to see them showcase their skills.”
Warren Gatland has named his B&I Lions team to play South Africa ‘A’ with tour captain Conor Murray (Munster, Ireland) named as skipper of a starting XV which has 12 changes to the team that defeated Cell C Sharks 31-71 at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday evening
Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby, England), Chris Harris (Gloucester Rugby, Scotland) and Dan Biggar (Northampton Saints, Wales) are the only players retained.
Watson shifts from right wing to fullback with Harris moving to 13 where he is joined in midfield by Bundee Aki (Connacht Rugby, Ireland). Biggar will again start at fly-half.
“We’re pleased to have arrived in Cape Town as we near the halfway stage of the Series,” said Gatland.
“Wednesday’s game against South Africa ‘A’ will be our toughest encounter since we arrived here and we’re looking forward to it. We expect them to be physical in the contact area and look to test us at scrum time.”
“I think we’ve benefitted from playing at altitude in the first three games. While the boys have felt it in their lungs, they’ll be all the better for it now we’re at sea level.
“As we move towards the business end of the Tour, it’s pleasing to see so many players putting in some stand-out performances. As coaches we want the players to make Test selection as hard as possible and that’s we’re seeing.”
Teams:
South Africa A: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Lukhanyo Am (captain), 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Sbu Nkosi, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Trevor Nyakane, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Steven Kitshoff. Replacements (from): 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Coenie Oosthuizen, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg, 20 Rynhardt Elstadt, 21 Herschel Jantjies, 22 Jesse Kriel, 23 Damian Willemse, 24 Kwagga Smith, 25 Elton Jantjies
British and Irish Lions: 15 Anthony Watson, 14 Louis Rees-Zammit, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Conor Murray (captain), 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Josh Navidi, 5 Iain Henderson, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Wyn Jones. Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Zander Fagerson, 19 Adam Beard, 20 Tadhg Beirne, 21 Sam Simmonds, 22 Gareth Davies, 23 Elliot Daly.