Online Reporter
THE lines have been drawn in the sand!
And the rugby battle between the Zimbabwe Sables and South Africa A promises to be more than a curtain-raiser, as previously advertised, with nothing more than pride at stake.
On one end, the Zimbabwe Sables are currently holed up in Stellenbosch, South Africa, as Piet Benade has the arduous task of fine-tuning his charges and making his final picks for the June 20 match at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha.
Across the pond, the South Africa Rugby Union has handpicked Mzwandile Stick for the task of leading the South Africa A side during that match.
Stick is Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus’ assistant, adding a little fire under the belly of South Africa A players having a good shift will bring them closer to the famed green and white jersey.
This will also be first time that South Africa “A” will be in action since they faced off against the Bristol Bears and Munster in November 2022.
Stick was also head coach for both of those fixtures, which South Africa lost.
The Bears claimed a 26-18 victory over the men in Green and Gold while Munster beat the former South Africa Emerging side 28-14 at a sold-out Páirc Uí Chaoimh in Cork.
With the match a little over a week away, the Sables will tomorrow wrap up what has been a productive and very important camp in South Africa.
“The vibe has been very positive,” said Sables skipper Hilton Mudariki.
“As we get closer to the South Africa A game and the Nations Cup, the focus and intensity have definitely gone up.
“Camp has been excellent.
“We have had quality training sessions, and the environment here in Stellenbosch has allowed us to prepare well.
“We are now in a really good place in terms of our preparedness, but there is always room to improve.
“Right now, it is just about sharpening the small details and making sure we’re ready to perform come game day,” he said.
Benade carried a rather new-look Sables ensemble to South Africa with the gaffer hoping to have one final look at as many players as possible.
Of particular interest were the foreign-based players, fresh off their releases from their respective clubs, and some new faces.
These include Tude Visser and Dale Lemon, from the United Kingdom, who hope to get their Test debuts for Zimbabwe.
DHL Stormers’ Gary Porter has finally heeded the call to duty, while Daniel Cooke and Bruce Houston have also made the cut.
“The foreign-based guys have integrated themselves rather well,” said Mudariki.
“They have added quality and experience, and the competition for places has lifted standards across the squad.
“The adaptation period, while short, has been smooth.
“Everyone has settled in well and bought into what we are trying to achieve as a team.”
The Sables are not alone in the intensified preparations.
A 54-men extended squad is currently in camp, with Eramus and Stick expected to make their respective picks next week.
While the match between the Springboks and the Barbarians remains the headliner, Zimbabwe and South Africa A’s curtain-raiser is not devoid of stakes and many subplots.
Of course, Zimbabwe are using the match as the final lap of their Nations Cup preparations.
The Zimbabwe Rugby Union will name their final Nations Cup squad on June 25 at a private function in the capital.
They will then depart for the United States on June 28.
Zimbabwe’s Nations Cup opener against Tonga is slated for July 4.
All eyes will be on Stick and his South Africa A side come June 20.
Johan Ackermann was previously the head coach of South Africa “A,” leading the side against the England Saxons back in 2016 and the French Barbarians a year later. The England Saxons claimed a 2-0 series win 10 years ago, winning the first match 32-24 in Bloemfontein and the second 29-26 in George.
South Africa won the series against the French Baa-Baas 2-0, defeating the touring team 36-28 in Durban and then 48-28 in Soweto.
Former Blitzbok Stick first joined the Springboks coaching staff back in 2016 but was demoted that same year.
He then returned to the fold when Erasmus was named as Allister Coetzee’s successor in 2018, remaining as a key cog in the Springboks coaching team that has won back-to-back Rugby World Cup titles and the 2021 British and Irish Lions Series.
However, Stick is still searching for his first victory in charge of the SA “A” team.
And Erasmus just made his task even more difficult as he highlighted the importance of the Zimbabwe match, as it helps get players ready for the Springboks’ structures.
“The match between the SA ‘A’ team and Zimbabwe will serve as a fantastic opportunity for both teams to achieve some of their objectives with the Rugby World Cup in mind,” said Eramus.
“From a South African point of view, we have seen the benefits of having an SA ‘A’ team playing against quality opposition.
“Players such as Sacha (Feinberg-Mngomezulu), Ruan (Nortje), Grant (Williams), Aphelele (Fassi), and Elrigh (Louw), among others, all played for the team in the early stages of their international careers and have become important members of our squad since.
“This match will offer us another chance to give guys within our squad and others who have really put up their hands to prove what they can do against international opposition.
“We have done well to rotate our squad and give several players a chance in the last two seasons, but there are others who have performed really well outside of that group, who we would like to see in action.
“So we will be able to cast our net wider as we prepare for that encounter,” he said. — Zimpapers Sports Hub/planetrugby.com
