The second edition of the Carling Championship match against Italy “A” gets underway at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday. The 30-man Carling Champions squad is made up of players who participated in the Currie Cup Premier Division.
Players have been voted for by fans including the head coach, captain as well as a man of the match. The team will be coached by Pumas head coach Jimmy Stonehouse and the team has already been selected.
The squad includes two Springbok players, Bulls centre Cornal Hendricks and Embrose Papier as well as some Blitzboks players. Some have also played for the junior Springboks.
The first edition was played in an empty stadium at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria last year.
Coach Stonehouse says the Italians are not on holiday but are here to display a good brand of rugby.
“We started training on Monday and training has been good, not all players arrived on time but the most important thing is to win and the preparation has gone well, we will be ready on Saturday,” says Stonehouse.
This will be a perfect opportunity for some players to launch their international careers.
“The expectations are high, stakes are high but we are just focusing mainly on ourselves. We are just training and the mood in our training camp is amazing, we are ready, we owe rugby fans of Gqeberha since they couldn’t come to watch us play during COVID,” says Nama Xaba, Carling Championship player.
“We are excited to play in South Africa. their squad is good, so we have to prepare very well. Let’s wait and see on Saturday,” says Davide Ruggeri, Captain: Italy A.
The game will kick off after the match between the Springboks and Wales at 19h45 on Saturday evening and will be broadcast live on the SABC’s radio stations.
VIDEO: All you need to know about the Carling Champions match
