Munster will face a South Africa A line-up that includes 14 capped Springboks in their sold out Páirc Uí Chaoimh clash on Thursday night.
On an historic occasion for the province - 41,400 tickets make it the highest ever attendance for a rugby game in Munster - ex-Reds Thomas du Toit, who skippers the side, and Jason Jenkins are named in the starting formation by their coach Mzwandile Stick.
Munster can expect a bit of a South African backlash after last Saturday's defeat for the Boks by Ireland at the Aviva Stadium and a strong side underlines that threat to Graham Rowntree's men.
Aphelele Fassi, Cornal Hendriks, Johan Goosen and Herschel Jantjies are the capped Boks in the backline.
Jean-Luc du Preez, Elrigh Louw, Ruan Nortje, Jason Jenkins and the entire front row of Du Toit, Ntuthuko Mchunu and Joseph Dweba will all bring their Test match experience to the pack.
There are three more Boks on the bench with Dan du Preez, Sikhumbuzo Notshe and Grant Williams set to see game time in Corkj.
“We are pleased with the quality of the squad we selected, and we are confident that with this thrilling blend of experienced and young players have what it takes to perform against Munster,” said Stick.
“One of the main reasons for selecting SA ‘A’ and Springbok teams for the year-end tour was to cast our net as wide as possible to test our player depth less than a year out from the Rugby World Cup, while also giving as many players as possible top-class game time.
“Most of these players have either been in the Springbok squad in the last two seasons, or they have been on our radar, so this is an ideal opportunity to see them in action against what will be a physical and challenging encounter.”
The squad travelled to Cork on Sunday after Saturday's 19-16 loss for the Springboks.
“The SA ‘A’ coaches had the luxury of spending the week with the Springboks last week, where they attended all the coaches’ meetings and training sessions to give them a taste of Test rugby and what they will expect this week, and this allowed us to hit the ground running,” said Stick.
“The coaches, players and team management know what is expected of them and we are working hard to implement our structures as effectively and efficiently as possible, and I have no doubt we will be a tight unit by the time we take the field."
Munster have endured a poor start to the season but Rowntree will have them up for this fixture.
Stick expects that much. "They are one of the top club teams and they balance their physicality with exciting backline play, so we are going to be tested thoroughly," he remarked.
“That said, we have named an equally exciting team and we have a number of leaders in core positions. Every one of our players will also want to make the most of this opportunity to throw their names in the hat for World Cup selection, which will serve as an extra motivational factor to showcase their talent.
”South Africa XV: Aphelele Fassi (Sharks); Suleiman Hartzenberg (Stormers), Henco van Wyk (Lions), Cornal Hendricks (Bulls), Leolin Zas (Stormers); Johan Goosen (Bulls), Herschel Jantjies (Stormers); Ntuthuko Mchunu (Sharks), Joseph Dweba (Stormers), Thomas du Toit (C) (Sharks); Jason Jenkins (Leinster); Ruan Nortje (Bulls); Phepsi Buthelezi (Sharks), Elrigh Louw (Bulls), Jean-Luc du Preez (Sale Sharks).
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