Captain Thomas du Toit: SA A players’ chance to ‘throw names in Bok hat’

The South African A players get their first chance on the end-of-year-tour to prove they belong in the Springbok setup when they face Munster at the Páirc Uí Chaoimh in Cork on Thursday night (kick-off 9:30pm).

The team is littered with players with international experience and up and coming youngsters, and they will all be looking to stand out and make an impression with the World Cup in France less than a year away.

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They get the perfect opportunity to show what they can do in front of a packed house of over 41,000 people against the hosts, and the players will be eager to impress.

“This is a great opportunity for everyone in the team to throw our names in the hat to play for the Springboks,” admitted SA A captain Thomas du Toit.

“Some of us have been there before, and it’s everyone’s dream to be in the Bok squad, but we will have to find a balance between showcasing our talents and playing as a team. If we can win the match, everyone will look better, and we fully understand it.

“Munster won’t roll over, they have a great team, and we’re expecting a wonderful game. We’re not going to be naïve, we know what this means to them, and I’m sure Ireland’s victory over the Boks will give them some advantage, but this is a new game between new teams and all of us are very excited about this opportunity.”

Munster experience

Du Toit has some experience having played for Munster for four months at the end of 2016 and start of 2017 and has a good idea of the reception his side will receive from the passionate Munster fans.

“They will be fired up. Cork is a place where some of them (players) live, travelling to Limerick to play. There is obviously quite a bit of history behind this venue and the games that are played here,” explained Du Toit.

Horrible playing conditions are also expected on the night, with huge winds and possible rain on the cards, however Du Toit believes the SA A side got the perfect training in during the week for those conditions.

“It is about who can roll with the punches. We are excited about the challenge. We were fortunate enough to have had a few training sessions where we experienced that (poor conditions), and the guys really got used to it towards the end of the training sessions.

“So fortunately we have some experience of what it is going to be like.”