Rassie Erasmus part of South Africa A coaching panel for games against Munster and the Bristol Bears

South Africa Rugby has announced the coaching structure of 'A' side for the games against Munster and Bristol Bears to be played in November.

SA Rugby Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus will be overseeing the coaching group with the Springboks assistant coach Mzwandile Stick taking charge.

Bafana Nhleko, Sharks coach Joey Mongalo and Griquas scrum coach Wian du Preez will be the assistants as the SA Team will face Munster on 10th November and Bristol on 17th November.

“The SA ‘A’ matches will have multiple benefits for SA Rugby as it will open the door for some of our top up-and-coming coaches to be exposed to high-level rugby at senior level in a national team set-up, while at the same time allowing us to continue building our player base as look ahead to the Rugby World Cup,” Erasmus said.

“This season alone we used over 50 players in our test matches, which is fantastic as one of our core pillars in the Springbok team is to build squad depth, but with limited playing opportunities for several players and the fact that we lost out on a vital year to build our squad due to the COVID-19 pandemic, these matches will be crucial.

“The closest one can get to playing for the Springboks is the SA ‘A’ team, and we believe these matches will give us a good idea of the coaches and young players within our ranks as well as offering some experienced players the opportunity to return from injury and get back to form as they contest for places with an eye on Rugby World Cup spots.”