Zimbabwe’s Sables Suffer Heavy South Africa ‘A’ Defeat But Find Value In ‘Great Benchmark’

For South Africa, it was an opportunity to glimpse the future. For Zimbabwe, it was a chance to test themselves against the world’s best rugby nation.

Image: South Africa ‘A’ in action against Zimbabwe on June 20, 2026 (Credit: SA Rugby).

GQEBERHA, South Africa – A “wake-up call” is what many in Zimbabwe anticipated their clash with South Africa ‘A’ would be on Saturday — and it proved exactly that.

The Sables suffered a heavy 40-0 defeat to the South African second-string side in the Eastern Cape port city of Gqeberha, in the curtain-raiser to the unofficial Test match between the Springboks and the Barbarians, where the world champions ran out 80-31 winners.

For Piet Benade’s side, the defeat officially marked the beginning of Zimbabwe’s preparations for the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia, where they will return to the sport’s biggest stage for the first time since 1991.

Yaqeen Ahmed, Markus Muller, Haashim Pead, Nico Steyn, Imad Khan and Jaco Williams all crossed the whitewash as a youthful SA ‘A’ side ran riot in an unanswered six-try display — a glimpse into the next generation of Springboks.

Despite the heavy loss, Zimbabwe’s spirits remain intact as the Sables continue their rebuilding journey.

Zimbabwe Rugby Union (ZRU) General Manager Takunda Chifokoyo, himself a former Sables player, found positives in the performance.

“We believe it was a fair result and a good result for us in terms of determining where we stand, and how we fare against opposition that is playing at an elite level,” Chifokoyo told Rugby Africa Media.

“This was certainly a very good SA ‘A’ side, with capped Springboks in it. This is what you dream of — opportunities like this, to be on the field with guys who are playing at an elite level.

“But it was a great benchmark for Zimbabwean rugby and we feel that this is an opportunity we should take full advantage of, perhaps even on a yearly basis, playing against SA ‘A’ and top-level competition. Just to give our players an opportunity to level up, to always be prepared.

“I’m very proud of our boys, I’m very proud of our coaching staff, to be able to put this together.”

Zimbabwe now head to the United States in July for the first leg of the inaugural World Rugby Nations Cup, with Chifokoyo confident the experience in Gqeberha will serve them well.

“That has given us the opportunity to see where we stand as a team and as a programme, and how we can continue to build on this as we grow into November, into the next stage of the Nations Cup in the UK.

“We are on a good footing. We can only go up from here. What happened on Saturday was phenomenal.”

The fixture against Zimbabwe forms part of South Africa’s long-term strategy to expose the next generation of Springboks to high-level competition, as the four-time world champions look to maintain their dominance on the global stage.

To underline the importance of the occasion, Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus delegated one of his trusted assistants, Mzwandile Stick, to lead SA ‘A’.

For South Africa, it was an opportunity to glimpse the future. For Zimbabwe, it was a chance to test themselves against the world’s best rugby nation.

And while the 40-0 scoreline may seem harsh, Benade’s men did not disgrace themselves at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. In fact, they earned praise from Stick himself.

“We knew it was going to be a big challenge because the majority of our players have never played together, so it was a new team, and Zimbabwe tried to challenge us by keeping ball in hand and playing direct rugby — I enjoyed the way they played,” said Stick.

“That said, for us, the goal was to see whether the players could execute what we’ve been working on over the past two weeks, and it was sometimes frustrating when the points weren’t coming.

“In the first half, we were unlucky, with two tries disallowed — once where a player went into touch, and another when a player was slightly in front of the kick.

“But from my side, the way the guys stayed in the fight, even when we were under pressure, was great, and we managed to keep a clean sheet.”

SA ‘A’ captain Vincent Tshituka also spoke highly about Zimbabwe, who will participate in the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia: “We played against a desperate side, and we expected that. We knew the Zimbabwe players would be motivated and would want to prove a point against world-class opposition, and it showed.”

Match Day : Saturday 20 June 2026 (Local SAST Time)

• 12:00 – South Africa ‘A’ Team (40) vs Zimbabwe (0)

Written by Enock Muchinjo