SA ‘A’ team back on rugby calendar

The South African ‘A’ rugby team will return to action this year, when they square up against the Zimbabwe Sables, as a curtain-raiser to the Springboks’ season opener against the Barbarians in Gqeberha on 20 June.

The SA ‘A’ side last played in 2022, when they took on Munster and the Bristol Bears in the UK, under the guidance of Springbok assistant coach, Mzwandile Stick.

Zimbabwe, who are also preparing for the Rugby World Cup in Australia next year, will use the clash as part of their build-up.

Springbok coach, Rassie Erasmus, said the match would be a good opportunity for him to assess players beyond his national squad and others knocking on the door to take on their Zimbabwean counterparts.

“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, and from a South African point of view, we have seen the benefits of having an SA ‘A’ team playing against quality opposition,” said Erasmus.

“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’ll be able to cast our net wider as we prepare for that encounter.”

The SA ‘A’ match is scheduled to kick off at 12:00, followed by the Springboks’ clash against the Barbarians at 15:00.

Meanwhile, the Springboks are set to host their second alignment camp in May, with Erasmus expected to name his squad for the official training camp in June.

Rugby’s biggest carnival is coming to Gqeberha with an exciting game between South Africa ‘A’ and @SablesRugbyZW added as curtain-raiser before the #Springboks v @Barbarian_FC clash on 20 June – more here: https://t.co/GUf1vUrT9K 🏉🥳

Tickets for this historic double-header:… pic.twitter.com/nOHHLwrYZg

— Springboks (@Springboks) April 14, 2026

Written by: Ntsako Mukhari