Rassie wants Sacha to bring his ‘natural talent’ to Bok team

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus is hoping to see rising Bok flyhalf talent Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu bring his A game in his first start against the Wallabies in the opening match of the Rugby Championship in Brisbane on Saturday (6.45am).

Feinberg-Mngomezulu has played in all four of the Boks’ games so far this season, but came off the bench in every one, although he played almost the full second Irish Test at fullback after replacing a concussed Willie le Roux in the opening few minutes.

Erasmus is now looking forward to seeing what the 22-year-old can do leading the team from an extremely important position against the Aussies Down Under.

“With him starting at 10, it is a pivotal position in the team, but he’s not somebody who has recently fallen into the system. He has come through our system and we have the opportunity to take him through the levels (from playing off the bench to starting),” said Erasmus.

“What we are expecting from him is for him to work within our guidelines in how we want to play on defence and on attack, and then he must bring Sacha to the table, like Handre (Pollard) and Manie (Libbok) do.

“So we are expecting the same from Sacha and we are hoping to create the environment for him to be himself and bring his natural talent, like all the other guys.”

Through the system

Feinberg-Mngomezulu has worked his way through the Bok system, having played for the SA Schools team, captained the Junior Boks at the World Champs and played for the SA A team, with him now playing at the highest level.

Erasmus admitted that they have full confidence in the youngster, but cautioned that there will come a time when he won’t have the best of games and that will be when they see how he will respond to that pressure.

“He was with us in the SA A side two years ago when we played against Munster and Bristol, so he was part of the Springboks then and impressed us. He also impressed us at the Junior World Cup (with the Junior Boks), along with other guys like Jaden (Hendrikse),” explained Erasmus.

“It is nice when you can track those guys from a certain age, because you know what their capabilities are. Salmaan Moerat is another guy we have tracked extensively. He captained against Portugal and he will definitely start again and captain South Africa at some point.

“Sacha is the same. So the one thing we do see with these guys is that the younger players come through with good skill sets that are nurtured from school level. When they get here we don’t have to tinker or change much with them, they are really well rounded.

“But there is always a time when you are going to get a ‘snot klap’ in a Test match to remind you of the level you are at. That is when the players around him who will support him and how he handles it that becomes important.

“Sometimes they will fly and that is the exciting thing to look forward to because he definitely has all the natural talent.”

De Allende backing

Bok inside centre Damian de Allende is also excited to see what Feinberg-Mngomezulu can do, but admits that it is his job to keep him grounded and make sure that he performs to the best of his ability on the day.

“I really enjoy him. He is very well spoken and he has a lot of confidence which I really like. I know it is his first start on Saturday and he will obviously be quite nervous. But I hope that he will be nice and composed, because when he is, and expresses himself, he is exceptional,” said De Allende.

“So I am really looking forward to the Test match. I know that it is my job to try and keep him composed and let him express himself on the field.

“He needs to lead our forwards going forward, and if he can express himself and play his natural game, I think he will be an amazing joy to watch.”