Eddie Jones: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu gives Springboks a ‘different threat’ but Rassie Erasmus is not ‘forgetting’ fortunate position

Rassie Erasmus and Eddie Jones have sung Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s praises after another impressive performance for the Springboks.

The 23-year-old racked up 16 points in the 61-7 victory over Japan at Wembley Stadium on Saturday, scoring two tries and slotting three conversions.

The clash against the Brave Blossoms was Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s fourth successive start for the Springboks as he continues to develop in the position.

He is going to be one hell of  a player

Japan boss Jones was impressed by the youngster’s performance and admitted that he played a crucial role in South Africa’s dominant kicking display. He adds that the playmaker provides a different threat at number 10 that the Boks didn’t have before, but notes that he still has room for development.

“I’m impressed by his leg speed; he has got serious, quick feet, and he is a big guy at 10,” the experienced coach said.

“He has got a fantastic fend too, so you give him half an opportunity and he is gone. He gives South Africa a different threat.

“They’ve always had the aerial threat, but now they have a running threat if they get fast ball, and we stood off him just one, and he made us pay.

“If he can continue to develop his game, learn when to play fast and when to play slow, he is going to be one hell of a player.”

Turning his attention to where the Springboks had the upper hand, Jones highlighted South Africa’s aerial brilliance but bemoaned the fact that his players aren’t tested as much in that facet of the game in the Japan Rugby League One competition.

“We were beaten badly there,” he said.

“As I mentioned to the players, we don’t play that kind of game at all in Japan, and we were found out today.

“Not only in terms of the skills, but tactically in that area, and the only way you get better at it is by playing in games like that, where kicking is the focus for going forward; everything South Africa kicks, they kick for a contest, and their accuracy and their ability to challenge in the air is absolutely outstanding.

“We were beaten badly, but again, we just need to take that experience on and find a way to improve individually and as a team to play teams like that. We will have it next week with Gibson-Park putting up box kicks, so we will get another chance to get better in that area.”

Springboks v Japan: Five takeaways as Boks ‘bully’ Brave Blossoms into submission

Team first focus

Meanwhile, Erasmus wanted to share the praise among the playing squad and not just focus on his rising star.

“I first want to talk about the whole team,” he began.

“Gerhard Steenekamp hasn’t played for a while for us. There were a couple of guys who came back into the mix, like Franco Mostert. Andre Esterhuizen really playing at six for us, Johan Grobbelaar did well, and Zach (Porthen) made his debut.

“So I think we have to mention everybody, and then specifically about Sacha, we must remember that he has been with us since 2022, when we were touring Ireland and he was playing for the SA’A side versus Munster and Bristol, he comes through our EPD system.

Rassie Erasmus shakes ‘dictator’ tag selecting rookie whom he has ‘probably spoken 100 words to’

“Everyone is viewing it as a rapid rise, but he’s been working with all the different coaches through all the different stages, and he trained with us for the entire end-of-year tour. Then obviously he is working with Manie (Libbok), Handre (Pollard), Mzwandile Stick, and Tony Brown.

“We know he is a great talent, and as we get tougher and tougher games, tonight was a wet game against a Japanese team that we’ve struggled to put away before, and he was physical for a number 10, he kicked well, tackled well, and he’s got the magic feel for the game.

“So, with him, Manie and Handre, we are in a fortunate position with our fly-halves.

“Obviously, you can see Sacha is getting more comfortable in the position, but we face France next week and we also have Ireland lined up later on tour, so we always need to make a step up.

“In a wet game like this, I thought he did really well.”

Opinion: A good time for England to take a leaf out of Rassie’s book before getting too loud

The Bok boss added that he hasn’t been shy to throw Feinberg-Mngomezulu into the big Test matches, but isn’t forgetting the quality that they have at their disposal.

“He played against Ireland at home when we drew that series, and he played against the All Blacks away from home, when we did pretty well,” he said.

“But we must never forget what Handre Pollard has done for us in crunch times, what Manie did for us at the World Cup. We won’t get overexcited because the hype around him is not caused by him; it’s caused by people.

“He’s very level-headed, and in a team environment, he’s doing really well, but we always say, a World Cup has never been won by a fly-half younger than 25, I think Jonny Wilkinson was 25, it’s still two years away, and then he is 25 so he’ll keep on growing and we’ll try to manage him correctly.”

READ MORE: When Rassie Erasmus will name the Springboks team to face France… and who to expect