The Bears are relishing a "special occasion" at Ashton Gate as they prepare to take on South Africa XV in BS3 on Thursday night (21h30 SA Time). A stadium-record crowd for a sporting event of 26,387 supporters will pack into Ashton Gate.
Additional time to prepare and get to know each other should stand the South Africa ‘A’ team in good stead when they face a dangerous Bristol Bears outfit in England on Thursday evening, with one of the main aims for the men in green and gold being to build on their second half performance from last week against Munster.
It is expected that the hosts will play a fast and exciting brand of rugby which will make it an interesting match as the South Africa "A" backline is one of the most exciting that could have been assembled.
South Africa "A" captain Du Toit said: “Having some extra time on the training field has also been good, as well as spending time off the field and getting to know each other better this last week. We’ll definitely take a bit more confidence into the game, and it’s now up to us to rectify the mistakes from last week and use the positives from that match to our advantage.”
The South Africans realise their defence will be tested by a Bristol side that likes to run from all positions on the field, but Mongalo said they will be ready for it: “I’ve not seen a team that likes to keep the ball in hand as much as they like to.
“Munster last week was more of a physical game of attrition, and this week Bristol will probably play wider and quicker – Pat Lam’s teams usually provide quite an attacking threat, so we are expecting them to run back from restarts and take quick taps.
Prediction: South Africa "A" by 15
Joe Joyce will captain the Bristol Bears against the touring South Africans in front of the biggest-ever crowd for a sporting event since the stadium’s redevelopment.
The Bristolian lock partners Joe Batley in the engine room, with Yann Thomas, Bryan Byrne and Max Lahiff getting the nod in the front row.
Magnus Bradbury switches to blindside in a dynamic back-row alongside Jake Heenan and Fitz Harding, with Will Porter and Callum Sheedy named at half back.
Sam Bedlow and Piers O’Conor combine in the midfield, with Gabriel Ibitoye and Deago Bailey joining Luke Morahan in an electric back three.
Joe Joyce says it will be an honour to lead his hometown club against South Africa XV.
"To know that I'll be the guy leading out the boys on Thursday night, it's a pretty special feeling. I haven't played international rugby so to have the opportunity to face international opposition and put yourself up against the best, in my home city, it's going to be incredible.
"To be captain is just an added motivation and it's a big test for me and the team. We're all excited and can't wait to get out there."
The players that were unavailable are Ellis Genge, Kyle Sinckler, Will Capon, Ed Holmes, Chris Vui, Steven Luatua, Sam Jeffries, Harry Randall, AJ MacGinty, Ioan Lloyd, Semi Radradra, Siva Naulago, Toby Fricker, Jack Bates, Henry Purdy, Charles Piutau.
South Africa ‘A’ head coach Mzwandile Stick made five changes to his starting team to face the Bristol Bears at Ashton Gate Stadium on Thursday, which includes Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Marco van Staden earning starts in a squad that features 12 capped Springboks.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu joined the SA ‘A’ team in Bristol on Sunday after spending the last two weeks with the Boks in Dublin and Toulon respectively, while Van Staden joined the SA ‘A’ team after being ruled out of Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber’s original 35-man Castle Lager Outgoing Tour travelling squad due to a rib injury.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu replaces Johan Goosen at flyhalf in a new halfback pairing with Grant Williams, while the only other change among the backs is at fullback, where Gianni Lombard takes over from Aphelele Fassi, who injured an ankle injury in the team’s 28-14 defeat against Munster last Thursday.
The changes in the forward pack were at hooker, where Andre-Hugo Venter is named in place of Joseph Dweba, who is on standby for the Springbok squad, with Van Staden replacing Phepsi Buthelezi at flank.
Stick opted for a split of six forwards and two backs on the bench, where JJ Kotze (hooker), Mornay Smith, Simphiwe Matanzima (both props), Dan du Preez (utility forward), Sikhumbuzo Notshe, and Buthelezi (both loose forwards) will provide cover, with Sanele Nohamba and Goosen (utility backs).
“It was always our intention to give everyone in the squad game time on this tour to assess our player resources and see what the players have to offer at this level,” said Stick.
“This week we will hand a few different players starting berths as the demands are different on players from the starting team and the bench.
“This is a very talented group of players and they have had a little more time to gel in the last few days after having very little time together before the Munster game, and we are confident that this will show when they take the field against Bristol.
“One of the changes was obviously injury-enforced with Aphelele ruled out, and this offered us an opportunity to give Sacha some game time after watching from the sidelines in the last two Bok Test matches. He has really impressed the Springbok coaching staff at training with his skills and enthusiasm and we saw what he produced for the Junior Springboks and DHL Stormers, so we are excited to see him playing flyhalf in this match.
“Joseph, meanwhile, is on standby for the Springboks depending on the injury status in their camp and this sees Andre-Hugo earn a start at hooker and JJ get a run off the bench.”
Stick expected another tough test against Bristol, although he said they would pose a different challenge to Munster.
“Bristol is coached by Pat Lam and with his New Zealand background, he enjoys skilful running rugby, so we are expecting the pace of this game to be faster,” said Stick.
“From our perspective, we also have exciting backs and mobile forwards, and they certainly have the ability to keep up with this and make their presence felt.”
Zoning in on their game Stick said: “We did several encouraging things on the attack last week and our defence was solid at times, so the main aspects for us this week is to be a more cohesive unit on the field and to use the chances we create on the attack.
“The weather conditions resulted in several knock-ons at crucial times on attack last week, and that cost us dearly, so we need to be more accurate at converting those chances into points this week.”
Teams:
Bristol Bears: 15. Luke Morahan, 14. Deago Bailey, 13. Piers O’Conor, 12. Sam Bedlow, 11. Gabriel Ibitoye, 10. Callum Sheedy, 9. Will Porter, 8. Fitz Harding, 7. Jake Heenan, 6. Magnus Bradbury, 5. Joe Batley, 4. Joe Joyce (c), 3. Max Lahiff, 2. Bryan Byrne, 1. Yann Thomas. Replacements: 16. Harry Thacker, 17. Jake Woolmore, 18. Jonathan Benz-Salomon, 19. John Hawkins, 20. Sam Lewis, 21. Andy Uren, 22. Joe Jenkins, 23. Rich Lane.
South Africa ‘A’: 15. Gianni Lombard, 14. Suleiman Hartzenberg, 13. Henco van Wyk, 12. Cornal Hendricks, 11. Leolin Zas, 10. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9. Grant Williams, 8. Jean-Luc du Preez, 7. Elrigh Louw, 6. Marco van Staden, 5. Ruan Nortje, 4. Jason Jenkins, 3. Thomas du Toit (c), 2. Andre-Hugo Venter, 1. Ntuthuko Mchunu. Replacements: 16. JJ Kotze, 17. Simphiwe Matanzima, 18. Mornay Smith, 19. Dan du Preez, 20. Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 21. Phepsi Buthelezi, 22. Sanele Nohamba, 23. Johan Goosen.
