Nienaber set to return to old stamping ground to face Munster

The Springboks, in the guise of the SA Select XV, will play Munster on their end-of-year tour in November.

The match, the second midweek clash to be confirmed on the tour, may feel like a homecoming for Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber, who was part of Rassie Erasmus's coaching group at the Irish provincial team between 2016 and 2018.

The SA Select XV will play Munster on November 10 and the Bristol Bears a week later at Ashton Gate.

The Springboks will play four Tests on the tour, against Ireland (in Dublin, November 5), France (in Marseille, November 12), Italy (in Genoa, November, 19) and England (in London, November 26).

The clash against England will be outside the Test window.

This will be the first time in the professional era that Munster face a South African touring side, with the last encounter between them taking place in 1970. Interestingly, the teams have only met three times, with the South Africans having won all those matches. The venue and ticket information will be announced in due course.

Nienaber was delighted about the announcement of the fixture against Munster, with whom he has an intense familiarity.

“Munster are a giant force in Ireland and they will offer the SA Select XV exactly the type of Test we need to build combinations and player depth as we prepare for the Rugby World Cup next year,” he said.

“We have been working with a large squad this year so we can give an expanded group of players a chance to stake a claim for places in the Rugby World Cup and beyond, and by facing top opposition such as a Munster and Bristol, I have no doubt we will get some of the answers we need with the international extravaganza about a year away.”

Nienaber said while they will work out the specifics of managing the team effectively between the midweek matches and Tests, the opportunity to play these matches will benefit the coaches and players.

“We haven’t had a proper rugby tour with midweek games in several years, so we are very excited about this opportunity,” said Nienaber.

“We will obviously have to be creative in how we split our management staff and players so the Test team and SA Select XV will have everything they need to be as prepared as possible for their respective matches, but the benefits of this tour are going to be huge in the development of our coaches and players.

“Obviously we will continue with our collaborative approach as management staff and that we can have virtual meetings will simplify that process.

“The most important aspect, however, is that we will be able to give most of the players who have been within our system, and possibly a few who have been knocking on the door, an opportunity to show what they can do while continuing to build their familiarity with our systems and coaching staff.”

The last time the Springboks faced such logistical challenges on an end-of-year tour was in 2000 when they played against Argentina A, Argentina, Ireland A, Ireland, Wales A, Wales, an English Divisional XV, England and the Barbarians.

Springbok year-end tour fixtures:

Saturday, November 5: SA vs Ireland (Dublin — Aviva Stadium)

Thursday, November 10: SA Select XV vs Munster (venue TBC)

Saturday, November 12: SA v France (Marseille — Stade Velodrome)

Thursday, November 17: SA Select XV v Bristol Bears (Bristol — Ashton Gate)

Saturday, November 19: SA v Italy (Luigi Ferraris Stadium — Genoa)

Saturday, November 26: SA v England (London — Twickenham)