Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu happy with ‘juggling act’ while ‘big dog’ Handre Pollard is around
Springboks playmakers Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Handre Pollard.
Rising star Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu is happy to fill in wherever he is required for the Springboks.
The 23-year-old made his Test debut against Wales last year and has featured at fly-half and full-back in his 10 caps for the Boks.
While he was the starting number 10 in both the Rugby Championship fixtures against the Wallabies and All Blacks last year, he makes his first appearance in this year’s tournament off the bench in Cape Town.
The big dogs
Featuring in the ‘Bomb Squad’ is a role the youngster is relishing with his ability to fly-half, inside centre and full-back.
He will provide cover for veterans Handre Pollard and Willie le Roux in the round two fixture against the Wallabies, and while he has expressed his desire to focus on playing fly-half, particularly with the Stormers, he is happy to fill any role required of him in the Springboks set-up.
“The difference with having the big dogs like Handre Pollard here, there’s a ladder that I have to climb and just learning from guys like him, whilst juggling the act of 12 and 15; it only grows my game,” Feinberg-Mngomezulu told reporters on Wednesday.
“To put on a Bok jersey is special every time, whether it’s a 23, 22, 12, 15, 10 or even six on the back, whatever can help the team and help me get a cap for the Springboks.”
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A gifted player with tonnes of flair, Feinberg-Mngomezulu has all the raw attributes to be a world-class star in the future.
However, head coach Rassie Erasmus has stated that he needs to develop his game to suit the Springboks’ style of number 10.
Erasmus wants the youngster to have an 80/20 split with Feinberg-Mngomezulu bringing his own 20% and freedom to the fly-half position, while fulfilling the 80% requirements too.
“It’s going to take a bit of time and coach is spot on,” he said.
“We saw this past weekend what happens when you drift away from our system, our structures and our fundamental things that make us a successful team. That’s definitely something I’m trying to hone in on; it’s been a focus point for the last few weeks.
“It’s something I’m constantly growing into and something that I’m going to be patient with and try to do as best I can because when you enforce the Bok fundamentals, that’s when the team really thrives and we put ourselves in positions we want and the opposition in positions they don’t want to be in.”
