The SA 'A' side produced a commanding 40–0 win over Zimbabwe at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha on Saturday, running in six tries in a performance that underlined the depth emerging from the Junior Bok programme.
The hosts led 21–0 at the break after Yaqeen Ahmed, Markus Müller and Haashim Pead — all products of the junior system — crossed in the first half, with Ahmed slotting all three conversions. The margin could have been wider had Zekhethelo Siyaya not had two efforts disallowed by the TMO, before the left wing was helped off late in the half after taking an accidental knock to the head at the base of a ruck, with Jurenzo Julius coming on in his place.
Ahmed's afternoon ended on a sour note early in the second half when a yellow card for making contact with Zimbabwean fullback Tapiwa Mafura in the air was upgraded to a 20-minute red card on review.
Despite the numerical disadvantage, SA 'A' extended their lead through a pair of replacements. Nico Steyn, on for Pead at half-time, snipped around a ruck to score within minutes of the restart, and Imad Khan then capitalised on soft defence around the fringes to make it 35–0, with Luan Giliomee converting both. Jaco Williams, another member of the 2025 Junior Bok squad, rounded off the scoring in the closing minute after gathering a loose kick.
Pead, SA Rugby's 2025 Young Men's Player of the Year, had been among the standouts before his half-time withdrawal, scoring his try after a patient build-up. The lineout was a concern throughout, with hooker Siphosethu Mnebelele's co-ordination with his jumpers inconsistent until the SA 'A' side shortened their lineout options.
Zimbabwe showed resilience in defence and made a more competitive start to the second half, improving at scrum time, but handling errors repeatedly undermined their attacking intent.