Stick to lead crucial SA A fixture as Springboks look beyond 2027

Springbok assistant coach Mzwandile Stick will take charge of South Africa A against Zimbabwe in Gqeberha on June 20, but the fixture is about more than simply identifying future Springboks.

It will also play a key role in securing the international futures of some of South Africa’s most promising young players.

Former BlitzBok Stick first joined the Springboks’ coaching team back in 2016 but was demoted that same year.

He returned to the fold when Rassie Erasmus was named as Allister Coetzee’s successor in 2018. He has since remained as a key cog in the coaching team that has won back-to-back Rugby World Cup titles as well as the 2021 British & Irish Lions Series.

He previously coached the team against Bristol Bears and Munster during the 2022 end-of-year tour, while Johan Ackermann led SA A in fixtures against the England Saxons and French Barbarians in 2016 and 2017.

The SA A match forms part of a double-header that also includes the Springboks’ clash against the Barbarians and will provide an opportunity for several uncapped players to make a statement within the national setup. It could also prove to be a significant moment in their international careers.

Among the 21 uncapped players called into the Springbok training camp this week were promising flyhalves Vusi Moyo and Yaqeen Ahmed, Junior Springbok captain Riley Norton, centre Markus Muller, utility backs Zekhethelo Siyaya and Luan Giliomee, hookers Siphosethu Mnebelele and Liam van Wyk, as well as props Oliver Reid and Danie Kruger.

Bok foundation laid as Baabaas awaithttps://t.co/gtUSCwzsj7

🌐#Rugby365 #Springboks

— Rugby365 (@rugby365com) June 12, 2026

The significance of SA A selection extends beyond performance. Under World Rugby Regulation 8, South Africa A has been designated as South Africa’s official second senior representative team. Any player who represents SA A against Zimbabwe will therefore become internationally tied to South Africa.

That means players selected next week will effectively be “captured” by South Africa and would only be able to switch allegiance through World Rugby’s birthright regulations and after serving the required stand-down period.

The issue has become increasingly important as overseas unions continue to recruit South African talent at school and age-group level. Former SA Schools loose forward Josh Neill has already represented Ireland Under-20 this year, while Scottish Rugby recently signed highly rated twins Josh and James Mackenzie to the Glasgow Warriors academy through Scottish ancestry.

Erasmus has openly acknowledged that player development and retention are among the objectives behind the SA A programme.

“We hope to get some guys comfortable in the set-up. The second thing is to get them into our game plan and the way we want to do things,” Erasmus said this week.

“The SA A team also captures quite a lot of players because it is our second-ranked team and we are playing against a nation that is going to the World Cup.”

When the fixture was announced earlier this year, Erasmus pointed to the success of previous SA A players who have gone on to become established Springboks.

“Players such as Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Ruan Nortje, Grant Williams, Aphelele Fassi and Elrigh Louw all played for the team in the early stages of their international careers and have become important members of our squad since,” he said.

The Springboks and SA A squads will be selected from the wider training group currently assembled in Johannesburg. The original 51-man squad has since grown to 53 players following the additions of Phepsi Buthelezi and Carlu Sadie.

For Stick, the match offers another opportunity to develop future Springboks. For SA Rugby, it could also secure the long-term allegiance of several of the country’s brightest prospects.

Both teams will be announced early next week.