South Africa ‘A’ are the second national rugby union team that represent South Africa. In order of hierarchy, they sit below the senior national team, the Springboks. They regularly represent South Africa in international tournaments and they also sporadically face sides touring South Africa, such as the British and Irish Lions.
Read on to discover even more about South Africa ‘A’, including the side’s latest results and upcoming fixtures.
Warren Gatland has sprung a host of surprises in his team selection but the Lions will be too much for an undercooked Springboks.
Head coach Gatland claimed the Lions had already dented the Springboks ego at the set-piece.
South Africa ‘A’ are the second national rugby union team that represent South Africa. In order of hierarchy, they sit below the senior national team, the Springboks. They regularly represent South Africa in international tournaments and they also sporadically face sides touring South Africa, such as the British and Irish Lions.
Read on to discover even more about South Africa ‘A’, including the side’s latest results and upcoming fixtures.
The South Africa A side has historically been a development team. However, established stars of South African rugby do still play for the side when they’re returning from injury and looking for match practice.
Until 2018, South Africa A were under the South Africa Under-20 team in South Africa’s rugby hierarchy. However, a change to World Rugby’s regulations prohibited unions from designating an under-20 team as its second 15-a-side team.
That said, the team does have some experience playing against full national teams, noticeably doing so in the 2007 and 2008 Nations Cup. During these tournaments, they faced Namibia, Romania and Georgia, as well as Argentina, the Jaguares and Italy A.
There are no set criteria for deciding who represents South Africa A. However, the team is usually used to give potential Springboks a taste of international rugby. As a result, it’s a great opportunity for up-and-coming players to represent their country and push for full international selection.
Thomas du Toit Prop 
Steven Kitshoff Prop 
Malcolm Marx Hooker 
Fez Mbatha Hooker 
Joeseph Dweba Hooker 
Wilco Louw Prop 
Vincent Koch Prop 
Trevor Nyakane Prop 
Coenie Oosthuizen Prop 
Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg Lock 
Rynhard Elstadt Lock 
Eben Etzebeth Lock 
Franco Mostert Lock 
Marco van Staden Flanker 6 
Kwagga Smith Flanker 6 
Pieter-Steph du Toit Flanker 7 
Jasper Wiese Number 8 
Jean-Luc du Preez Number 8 
Sanele Nohamba 
Francois de Klerk Scrum half 
Jacobus Reinach Scrum half 
Hershel Jantjies Scrum half 
Elton Jantjies Fly half 
Damian Willemse Fly half 
Yaw Penxe Wing 
Rosko Speckman Wing 
Damian de Allende Centre 
Lukhanyo Am Centre 
Wandisile Simelane Centre 
Jesse Kriel Centre 
Sibusiso Nkosi Wing 
Morne Steyn Fullback 
Willie Le Roux Fullback 
Aphelele Fassi Fullback 
Cheslin Kolbe Fullback In the past, several established stars of world rugby have featured for South Africa ‘A’. For example, in 2017, Makazole Mapimpi and Thomas du Toit both played for the side before they were selected in South Africa’s 2019 Rugby World Cup-winning squad.
The upcoming South Africa ‘A’ side that will face the British and Irish Lions in 2021 remains unknown. However, because South Africa haven’t played a test since the 2019 World Cup final, it’s expected that several South African stars may feature for the side in order to gain match practice before the tests.
