Springboks: Nick Mallett gives forthright verdict on accusations of arrogance against Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu

Former Springboks head coach Nick Mallett has come to the defence of the world champions’ fly-half Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who has been accused of being arrogant.

Although the Springboks have three classy fly-halves in Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Handre Pollard and Manie Libbok, the former has worn the number 10 jersey in their last four Tests, against the All Blacks, Argentina (twice) and Japan.

Meanwhile, Libbok has come off the bench as Feinberg-Mngomezulu‘s replacement in each of the aforementioned matches while two-time Rugby World Cup winner Pollard has not been included in the Boks‘ matchday squads for any of those encounters.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu showcased his quality in the first Rugby Championship Test against Los Pumas in Durban when he set a new Springboks points-scoring record for a single game (37) as the Boks clinched a 67-30 victory.

Shone in victory against Japan

And on Saturday, he delivered another polished display as he contributed 16 points as his side cruised to a 61-7 triumph over the Brave Blossoms at Wembley Stadium in London.

However, despite those impressive showings, not everyone has taken too kindly to the 23-year-old’s confident approach to the game with several sports fans accusing him of being arrogant.

Mallett appeared on the Talking Boks podcast with Brenden Nel and seasoned rugby journalist Gavin Rich with Nel raising the topic and pointing out that, although he doesn’t believe Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s self-confidence is a bad thing, it’s a characteristic which South Africans are not used to seeing in their sports stars.

Rich believes Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s confident style doesn’t illustrate selfishness and could be a positive thing for the Springboks.

“He’s quite well grounded and understands people. So him being cocky, I think if it’s infectious, it’s actually really good for the team,” he said.

Mallett agreed saying he believes there’s a fine line between self-confidence and arrogance, and feels Feinberg-Mngomezulu is making the most of the former.

“I think coming in to support you here is that with self-confidence, you’re often accused of arrogance, and it’s not necessarily the same thing,” he said. “To be self-confident in sport is a massive advantage.

“Just think, ‘Give me the ball. I want the ball. I want to do something for my teammates. I know I can’. And that’s instead of saying, going into your shell, “No, I don’t want to make a mistake’.

“Now, those two types of attitudes in sport are either a winning attitude or a losing one.

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“And Sacha’s got a winning attitude. He wants the ball in his hand. If he kicks the ball badly, he’s not worried about the next time he kicks the ball.

“He wants the opportunity again to show that that’s a one in 10 mistake. It’s not a nine out of 10 mistake. And so that’s self-confidence.

“And sometimes it bubbles through on the field where you’ve got a bit of a swagger. And I think you’ve just got to be careful not to call it arrogance.

‘This guy is confident in his own abilities’

“You’ve just got to say: ‘Listen, this guy is confident in his own abilities’.

“He really wants the ball. He wants the chance to show what he can do and to do the best for his teammates. And it’s not necessarily saying that I’m arrogant. There’s a big difference, and you (Rich) made the point.

“You said: ‘As long as you’re not selfish’. And he’s definitely not selfish. You get a guy who’s confident, who loves his teammates.”

Mallett added: “That’s a fantastic advantage in a team game. And remember that if you’re playing tennis or if you’re an athlete, you’ve got to believe you can win.

“You’ve got to believe I’m going to win this 100 metre race.

“When (Usain) Bolt ran the race and he did that whole bloody performance afterwards. I loved it. I absolutely loved it because it just showed he was on top of the game, of his game.

“He wanted to show the world, you’re seeing something special now.

“And you can’t win individual sports unless you are very self-confident, got a lot of self-confidence. And equally in a team game, it’s the more guys you’ve got in your team who can’t wait to play the All Blacks or they can’t wait to play against France this weekend.

“Instead of saying: ‘Geez, I hope I don’t make a mistake this weekend’. The better chance you have of winning that game as a coach.”

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