South Africa A’s clash with Zimbabwe will be an important one for the future of the Springboks, regardless of the final scoreline.
The fixture will see the return of South Africa’s second senior national representative team, who last played in 2022 against Munster and Bristol Bears.
Unlike those matches four years ago, the clash against the Sables will effectively mean that uncapped players are pledging their future to the Springboks.
SA Rugby to capture up-and-coming stars with World Rugby regulations
World Rugby regulation 8.2 states that a player who has played for:
“(a) the senior fifteen-a-side National Representative Team of a Union; or
(b) the next senior fifteen-a-side National Representative Team of a Union; or
(c) the senior National Representative Sevens Team of a Union,
is not eligible to play for the senior fifteen-a-side National Representative Team or the next senior fifteen-a-side National Representative Team or the senior National Representative Sevens Team of another Union.”
Because South Africa A is playing against a senior XV team, Zimbabwe, anyone featuring in the match is ‘captured’ to their respective African team. This was not the case when they faced off against Munster or Bristol.
Previously, nations were allowed to nominate their U20s team as their second senior national representative team, but that is no longer the case. This means that if SA Rugby and Rassie Erasmus want to tie young players to the Springboks, they need to field them in matches for the Blitzboks, SA ‘A’ or Boks.
Once a player does that, the only way they can transfer their international allegiance is through the birthright or Olympic transfer, with the former requiring a three-year stand-down period.
Rassie Erasmus’ role in the selection
With Erasmus signing through to the 2031 Rugby World Cup, the Springboks are in a luxurious position where their head coach is planning beyond the current cycle. While many coaches are fully focused on Australia 2027, Erasmus can look beyond the upcoming tournament and cast his eye to USA 2031.
That is highlighted by just how youthful the SA ‘A’ team selection is, with the fixture effectively locking in 18 of South Africa’s up-and-coming rookies and a handful of players on the cusp of Springbok selection.
Junior Springboks Luan Giliomee, Jaco Williams and Zekhethelo Siyaya all start in the back-three for SA ‘A’, and while the trio have all shown real promise for the Sharks in their handful of United Rugby Championship performances, they are unlikely to make the step up to the Springboks before the Rugby World Cup. Erasmus is renowned for throwing a selection surprise or two throughout an international season, but the Boks’ back-three is incredibly well-stocked at the moment.
The same theory applies to Markus Muller, who has been tipped for an incredibly bright future in Green and Gold, but the Stormers youngster is unlikely to usurp the likes of Damian de Allende, Ethan Hooker, Jesse Kriel, Canan Moodie and Andre Esterhuizen by next year, not forgetting his midfield partner this weekend, Lukhanyo Am too.
Scrum-half Haashim Pead could very well force his way into the senior squad even though there is no lack of quality nines, but his half-back partner, Yaqeen Ahmed, this weekend is unlikely to do so.
Getting Emmanuel Tshituka in the team and capturing the Congolese-born back-rower is one of the real benefits of the clash. The Sharks star is already 26 but is struggling to set himself apart from the overflowing depth the Boks have in the loose trio. That depth could diminish somewhat after the World Cup, and Tshituka is well-placed to stake a claim for a spot. Fielding him against Zimbabwe means he is unlikely to move abroad and qualify through residency for another nation.
Ditto for Montpellier-bound lock Ruben van Heerden and Emmanuel’s brother Vincent, who captains the side. 21-year-old Bathobele Hlekani is also held in high regard and someone who could only be primed for a Test debut in 2028.
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Future proofing
This match against Zimbabwe effectively allows Erasmus to future-proof his squad over the next few years, tying players to the Springboks at a time where some nations will be looking to make project player signings.
Scotland notably did so with the likes of WP Nel, Oli Kebble and Pierre Schoeman while Ireland signed James Lowe, Jamison Gibson-Park and Bundee Aki, using a similar ploy. Previously, players could qualify through residency after three years, with World Rugby extending that period to five years, which means that if nations are to replicate those signings, they need to sign the players at a younger age.
However, unless players have a genuine, close, credible and established national link to another country, the starters mentioned above plus hooker Siphosethu Mnebelele and replacements Liam van Wyk, Oliver Reid, Hanro Jacobs, Adre Smith, Siba Mahashe, Nico Steyn, Imad Khan and Jurenzo Julius won’t be able to change their international allegiance.
Only five players in the entire matchday 23 have already been capped and captured by the Springboks; they are: Am, Phepsi Buthelezi, Vincent Tshituka, Neethling Fouche, and Boan Venter.
South Africa ‘A’ team: Five Springboks included in line-up to face Zimbabwe Sables
Value of the Zimbabwe fixture
The clash against the Sables was a late inclusion to South Africa’s playing calendar, but Erasmus clearly saw the value in the fixture and on several fronts.
“We hope to get some guys comfortable in the setup. The second is to get them into our game plan and the way we want to do things. We can’t analyse Zimbabwe, but they’re a World Cup team,” he said last week.
“Then to get injured players and players who haven’t played a lot in the last few months and get them game time. Then the ideal thing would be that the things that we trained in the two weeks actually pans out on the field like we want it to.
“Then, the SA ‘A’ team also captures quite a lot of players because it is our second-ranked team, and we play against a nation that is going to the World Cup, where all players in that game are captured.”
With several players signing for overseas clubs straight out of school, the ploy to capture a load of upcoming stars now is an opportunity that the Boks didn’t want to miss out on, with SA Rugby benefiting from the structures that general manager Dave Wessels and Junior Boks coach Kevin Foote have put in place.
While Erasmus says that many of the SA U20s are almost ready for Test rugby already because of the work those two coaches have put in, the Boks boss doesn’t have to rush international debuts to capture those players and can instead use those matches as experience builders for the men more likely to board the plane to Australia next year.