South Africa ‘A’ v British and Irish Lions – Prediction, Team News, Lineups

South Africa ‘A’ v British and Irish Lions

• Date: Wednesday 14th July
• Time: 19:00 (UK)

What a transformation this fixture has undergone in the last few days. On the weekend we did not even know if the match would go ahead, there were rumours that it would be postponed, delayed, cancelled and even swapped with the Stormers game scheduled for next Saturday. The outcome? The game goes ahead as planned but with one vital twist…

The South African ‘A’ coach has handed the reins over to Springbok Boss Jassie Erasmus while he is in isolation. The Ex-Munster man has certainly taken advantage of the situation by naming 18 World Cup winners in the squad to face the British and Irish Lions. Make no mistake about it, thi is no ‘A’ team, this is a test team that would win tournaments and defeat most teams in the world. When the Springbok’s match against Georgia was called off due to a Covid-outbreak the selection was inevitable with the World Champions desperately short of game time in preparation for the test series against the Lions.

We can now look forward to an epic contest between two sides packed with international quality. There will be rustiness and mistakes due to the fragmented and chaotic build-up but once everyone settles in, there could be fireworks in Cape Town on Wednesday evening.

Team News 

SOUTH AFRICA ‘A’ 

1. Willie le Roux
2. Cheslin Kolbe
3. Lukhanyo Am (C)
4. Damian de Allende
5. Sbu Nkosi
6. Morné Steyn
7. Faf de Klerk
8. Steven Kitshoff
9. Joseph Dweba
10. Trevor Nyakane
11. Eben Etzebeth
12. Franco Mostert
13. Marco van Staden
14. Pieter-Steph du Toit
15. Jasper Wiese

Replacements:

16. Malcolm Marx
17. Coenie Oosthuizen
18. Vincent Koch
19. Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg
20. Rynhardt Elstadt
21. Herschel Jantjies
22. Jesse Kriel
23. Damian Willemse
24. Kwagga Smith
25. Elton Jantjies

THE BRITISH & IRISH LIONS

1. Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby, England) #816
2. Louis Rees-Zammit (Gloucester Rugby, Wales) #846
3. Chris Harris (Gloucester Rugby, Scotland) #844
4. Bundee Aki (Connacht Rugby, Ireland) #837
5. Josh Adams (Cardiff Rugby, Wales) #836
6. Dan Biggar (Northampton Saints, Wales) #821
7. Conor Murray – captain (Munster Rugby, Ireland) #790
8. Wyn Jones (Scarlets, Wales) #842
9. Ken Owens (Scarlets, Wales) #829
10. Kyle Sinckler (Bristol Bears, England) #814
11. Maro Itoje (Saracens, England) #825
12. Iain Henderson (Ulster Rugby, Ireland) #808
13. Josh Navidi (Cardiff Rugby, Wales) #854
14. Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, England) #853
15. 8 .Taulupe Faletau (Bath Rugby, Wales) #779

Replacements:

16. Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs, England) #851
17. Mako Vunipola (Saracens, England) #787
18. Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors, Scotland) #848
19. Adam Beard (Ospreys, Wales) #852
20. Tadhg Beirne (Munster Rugby, Ireland) #838
21. Sam Simmonds (Exeter Chiefs, England) #849
22. Gareth Davies (Scarlets, Wales) #850
23. Elliot Daly (Saracens, England) #822

Previous Meets and Results 

South Africa ‘A’ have lost their last two fixtures, both narrow defeats to the England Saxons on home soil. Bet Victor rates a South African ‘A’ win at (5/4). Previously known as ‘The Emerging Springboks’, they have taken on the British and Irish Lions on the last two tours. In 1997 the Lions won comfortably by 51-11 in Wellington but in 2009 in the last meeting, the sides could not be separated and drew 13-13 in Cape Town. For a draw on this occasion, Betfred is offering (22/1).

The Lions are undefeated on tour so far and beat Japan before flying out to South Africa. They had a first-half fright in the second game against the Sharks last time out. The 71-31 scoreline certainly does not tell the tale of the match, particularly before the red card reduced the home side to 14 men for much of the second half. The tourists are (13/20) with Bet Victor to win this contest.

South Africa ‘A’ v British and Irish Lions Prediction 

The Lions are more battle-hardened but are still experimenting with combinations. The South Africans have both quality and experience in their ranks even though they are a little short of match practice at present. Form is temporary and class is permanent, expect the Emerging Springbok’s of South Africa ‘A’ to edge this in a closely fought contest in what could be test-match-level ferocity and physicality. Skybet is offering (5/1) for South Africa ‘A’ to win by 1-5 points whilst Paddy Power is pricing them to win by 1-10 points at (3/1).