Stick disappointed with SA ‘A’ loss to Munster

The Springbok-laden South Africa ‘A’ side was outplayed by Munster as they were beaten 28-14 in Ireland, in the first of their two mid-week matches on the year-end tour.

The result will serve as a teachable moment for many of the players who were playing in front of a capacity crowd in Cork – at international level for the first time, albeit against a powerhouse of European club rugby.

Munster outscored the SA ‘A’ team 28-14 with four tries to two, although had a few opportunities stuck for the visitors, the result could have been different.

The team’s coach Mzwandile Stick was quite disappointed after the team’s defeat.

“We knew if we gave them soft entries into the 22, they would use it and there were chances that didn’t go our way. But I am proud of the boys for fighting until the end. In summary, we had a game plan that we didn’t execute well in the first half, and we also gave them soft penalties, and it cost us,” Stick said.

The last time the SA A played a match was against the British and Irish Lions on their tour of South Africa in July 2021. The squad that played then was markedly different from the 23 that faced Munster, and at times looked like an Invitational XV that was put together haphazardly.

Team captain Thomas Du Toit admitted that one of the contributing factors to the defeat was the fact that they only had a few days to train and gel against a well-rounded and settled Munster team.

“We are not making excuses – the team had minimal time together to put our structures in place and build cohesion and we also played in very different weather conditions. Munster know each other very well, and they have been playing together for years, whereas we are a completely new team,” said du Toit.

The South Africans have another fixture lined up next week Thursday against the Bristol Bears and Stick hopes his players will have learned lessons from this defeat and work on the necessary improvements in an attempt to deliver a winning performance.