Teams will be selected by a "school yard pick"
South Africa is bringing top-level rugby back and anounced that they would gerald the return with the Castle Lager Springbok Showdown – with two sides selected via a “school yard pick”, before the match in Cape Town. According to Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus, “The players will be encouraged to showcase their skills.”
The match will take place on 3 October, SA Rugby revealed as part of their plans plans for a four-month local season.
Springbok assistants Mzwandile Stick and Deon Davids will coach two sides – Springbok Green versus Springbok Gold – with Erasmus and head coach Jacques Nienaber acting as the two team commissioners.
To decide the teams there will be a draft pick from an enlarged squad of 60 available players. Stick and Davids will take alternate turns to pick a player for their squad. They will end up with 25 players each.
It will all be televised on SuperSport, and an enlarged squad will be named on Saturday, before the draft pick next week.
Leading one side: Assistant coach Mzwandile Stick (Getty Images)
Fans will be hoping for some Barbarians-style, free-flowing rugby as some of the reigning Rugby World Cup champions return to action.
Erasmus said of the concept: “This will not only be an opportunity to see the best of the best available talent in South Africa square off against each other in what promises to be something never seen before, but it will also provide the players with another valuable opportunity to shake of the rust and get the legs and lungs going after not playing any rugby in the last six months.”
“The players will be encouraged to showcase their skills – individually and in their teams – and while it will be full-on, we’re expecting to see a highly competitive match of quality players against each other.
“It will be exciting – from the moment we select the squads, with a number of twists thrown in for good measure – through the build-up to the match and the actual encounter in Cape Town.”
The South African rugby season will resume on 26 September with two matches in Pretoria. The Bulls will play the Sharks, and the Lions will face the Stormers on what they have dubbed ‘Vodacom Super Fan Saturday’.
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