The Americans are in Bloemfontein to play in the tournament, while they also want to make use of the heat and altitude in order to prepare for their World Cup qualifiers in Dubai next month.

While it is not their full national side, there are players in the squad such as the former Stormers winger, Marcel Brache. Brache grew up in Cape Town, although he was born in Los Angeles. The Americans even have Paul Lasike – who played three years of NFL for the Chicago Bears – in their squad.

The two South Africans in the squad are Duncan van Schalkwyk (scrumhalf/ flyhalf) en Michael de Waal (flank).

The former Sharks head coach and recent All Blacks assistant coach, John Plumtree, is an assistant to Gold, while the former Argentina international hooker and head coach, Mario Ledesma, is also an assistant.

The coach Gary Gold told OFM Sport that the tour is a big deal for his players.

“It is such a good environment to train in for so many reasons - the people here are amazing and always look after you,” said Gold.

“When were with the Springboks we often used to say that you can really get a lot of work done here. Everything works and is nearby, while there are also amazing facilities for us to train at.

“For us this is an eye opener for many of the guys. Some of these players have hardly ever left their state - let alone leaving the United States, let alone coming to Africa. This is just an incredible opportunity for these guys and many of them have never played at this level before.

“Some have only just broken into club rugby, and in fact we have got a guy here that only started playing rugby a year ago. He used to be a wrestler.

“We've got a lot of experimental players here and they are the future. As you know, 2031 is a milestone in America and we are building towards that.”

Friday evening’s game at the Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein kicks off at 18:00.

USA National A squad - Nate Augspurger, Benjamin Bonasso, Marcel Brache, Bryce Campbell, Luke Carty, Nick Civetta, Michael de Waal, Cameron Dolan, Christian Dyer, Jamason Fa'anana-Schultz, Dylan Fawsitt, Kaleb Geiger, Cory Gilliland-Daniel, Viliami Helu, John Iscaro, Paul Lasike, Tavite Lopeti, Angus Maclellan, Siaosi Mahoni, Chris Mattina, Conner Mooneyham, Paul Mullen, Keni Nasoqeqe, Faka'osi Pifeleti, Ryan Rees, Nathan Sylvia, Tesimoni Tongauiha, Duncan van Schalkwyk, Chance Wenglewski, Mitch Wilson.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport