Saxons tour a proving ground for SA A
South Africa A captain Oupa Mohoje has highlighted the importance of the two-match series against the England Saxons.
While the Springboks take on Ireland over the next three weeks, South Africa’s upcoming rugby stars will take on England’s second stringers.
South Africa A coach Johan Ackermann had the luxury of being able to select five capped Springboks in his side for Friday night’s clash. Oupa Mohoje captains the team alongside fellow Boks Stephan Lewies, Vincent Kock, Scarra Ntubeni and Coenie Oosthuizen.
Meanwhile Cell C Sharks flyhalf Garth April will pull the strings at flyhalf, while Jean-Luc du Preez will add impact off the bench.
For the capped Springboks, Friday’s clash offers an opportunity to prove to national coach Allister Coetzee that they should be in the national setup.
“The coach said that we are all here for different reasons. At the end of the day, if we gel together then that will make it easier for the coaches to select us,” Mohoje said.
“It’s going to be a proper Test. It’s an international game and no Test match is easy. We haven’t got a chance to go through their plays so we don’t really know what they’re capable of. We just need to be clinical in everything that we do, and everything should go well for us.”
South Africa A face the Saxons in Bloemfontein at 19h00 on Friday night.
SA 'A'
15 Leolin Zas, 14 Travis Ismaiel, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Howard Mnisi, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Garth April, 9 Nic Groom, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Oupa Mohoje (captain), 6 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 5 Stephan Lewies, 4 JD Schickerling, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Thomas du Toit
Substitutes: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Lizo Gqoboka, 18 Coenie Oosthuizen, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Jean-Luc du Preez, 21 Piet van Zyl, 22 Francois Brummer, 23 Lukhanyo Am