Lukhanyo Am to lead South Africa A against Lions
Faf de Klerk will start at scrum-half for South Africa A
©Steve Haag
South Africa head coach Jacques Nienaber has named the matchday squad for the upcoming fixture against the British and Irish Lions to be played at Cape Town Stadium on Wednesday.
The matchday squad has 18 players from South Africa's 2019 World Cup winning campaign and will be captained by Lukhanyo Am while Morne Steyn, who kicked the Springboks to a series win over the Lions in 2009 takes the fly-half role with Faf de Klerk at scrum-half.
Uncapped Joseph Dweba will don the number two jersey and is joined at front row by Steven Kitshoff and Trevor Nyakane. Eben Etzebeth and Franco Mostert are part of the second row with uncapped lock Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg to provide cover from the bench.
Jasper Wiese, who made his debut against Georgia and is joined at back row by Marco van Staden and Pieter-Steph du Toit while Cheslin Kolbe is named at right wing with Sbu Nkosi at left. Am will be joined by Damian de Allende at midfield with Willie le Roux starting at fullback.
“We’re pleased to be able to name a quality team with a number of experienced players despite the challenges in the last week, which included the entire squad being confined to their rooms as part of the team’s preventative self-isolation measures,” said Nienaber.
“We may have lost our captain Siya (Kolisi), but there is a good leadership core within this group with the likes of Morné, Willie (le Roux), Eben (Etzebeth), Trevor (Nyakane) and Steven (Kitshoff), among others, whose experience will be invaluable in a match against a quality British & Irish Lions outfit.
“Players such as Joseph and Nicolaas will also get their first taste of running out in the green and gold at senior level in what will mark a memorable occasion in their careers and we are excited to see them showcase their skills.”
South Africa 'A' side: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Lukhanyo Am (captain), 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Sbu Nkosi, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Faf de Klerk; 1 Steven Kitshoff, 2 Joseph Dweba, 3 Trevor Nyakane, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 5 Franco Mostert, 6 Marco van Staden, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 8 Jasper Wiese.
Reserves: 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.
