All Blacks XV to face South Africa A in France

Reports from Stuff.co.nz indicate that the All Blacks XV are set to lock horns with South Africa A in Montpellier this November. Preceding this, a New Zealand U19 side will tour South Africa in October as NZR attempts to widen its players exposure to South African rugby. 

It appears that the decision to show South African teams the door in Super Rugby has had something of a negative backlash in the land of the long white cloud as the recent series loss against Ireland showed the All Blacks up as being somewhat off the pace. A popular school of thought suggests that not mixing it up with South Africa’s big forwards at set-piece and at the breakdown has softened the All Blacks somewhat, prompting an attempt to make the rivalry more regular. 

While the full fixture list is still to be confirmed, it appears that Blues boss Leon MacDonald will take charge of the All Blacks XV. They are currently scheduled to take on the Barbarians on November 13th at Twickenham where MacDonald will come up against his fellow countryman Scott Robertson who, along with Ronan O’Gara, will mentor the invitational team.