South African ‘A’ coach, Johan Ackermann, on Wednesday named seven Springboks in his 23-man squad to face the French Barbarians at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Friday, 16 June 2017.
Southern Kings pivot Lionel Cronje will start in the number 10 jersey. His franchise team mate Makazole Mapimpi was named on the wing in the number 11 jersey. Another Southern Kings player, flanker Andisa Ntsila will play off the bench.
Ackermann earlier appointed Juan de Jongh (19 tests) as captain for the two match series against the French Baabaas and also included fellow Springboks Lwazi Mvovo (17 tests), Ruan Combrinck (7 tests), Jano Vermaak (3 tests) and Uzair Cassiem (1 test) in the run-on team, while Trevor Nyakane (28 tests) and Francois Venter (3 tests) are on the bench.
Eight other players – Lionel Cronje, Dewaldt Duvenage, Ruan Botha, Wilco Louw, Franco Marais, Thomas du Toit, Ox Nche and Jason Jenkins – represented the Junior Springboks earlier in their careers.
According to Ackermann, they prepared well for this clash and he is keen to see how the players play together as a unit.
“We had some good training sessions and everyone is on the same page with regards to our approach and objectives for this match,” said Ackermann.
“All the players are on form and they have been training well, so it wasn’t an easy decision to make and unfortunately I could not include all the players in our squad in the team for this match, but we will make some changes next week for the encounter at Orlando Stadium to try and give everyone game time.
“The French Barbarians named a very strong team and we need to be pretty precise in game management and execution to keep them at bay. I do expect them to be very attack-minded as well, so we need to find the correct balance in our approach.”
Ackermann said the team is in high spirits about the prospect of playing at the iconic venue: “Everyone is very excited to be the first team ever to play a big rugby match at Moses Mabhida Stadium.
“These are moments we will cherish as a squad. What will make it more ideal, is to have strong support as well at this magnificent venue and we hope to put on a performance which the spectators will enjoy.”
The South African ‘A’ side to face the French Barbarians in Durban:
15. Lwazi Mvovo (Cell C Sharks)
14. Ruan Combrinck (Emirates Lions)
13. Juan de Jongh (captain, DHL Stormers)
12. Harold Vorster (Emirates Lions)
11. Makazole Mapimpi (Southern Kings)
10. Lionel Cronje (Southern Kings)
9. Jano Vermaak (DHL Stormers)
8. Sikhumbuzo Notshe (DHL Stormers)
7. Ruan Ackermann (Emirates Lions)
6. Uzair Cassiem (Toyota Cheetahs)
5. Ruan Botha (Cell C Sharks)
4. Andries Ferreira (Emirates Lions)
3. Wilco Louw (DHL Stormers)
2. Franco Marais (Cell C Sharks)
1. Thomas du Toit (Cell C Sharks)
Replacements:
16. Ramone Samuels (DHL Stormers)
17. Ox Nche (Toyota Cheetahs)
18. Trevor Nyakane (Vodacom Bulls)
19. Jason Jenkins (Vodacom Bulls)
20. Andisa Ntsila (Southern Kings)
21. Dewaldt Duvenage (DHL Stormers)
22. Fred Zeilinga (Toyota Cheetahs)
23. Francois Venter (Toyota Cheetahs)
• Friday’s match kicks off at 16h45 and a week later, on Friday 23 June, at Orlando Stadium in Soweto, kick-off is at 20h00.
