Springboks: Rassie Erasmus gives blunt verdict on Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s development at Test level and issues ‘snot klap’ warning

Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus has given his reasoning on going with Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu as his first choice fly-half and opened up on his development at Test level.

After making his Springboks debut against Wales at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham last year, Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s career has followed an upward trajectory and he has already made 17 Test appearances for the world champions.

The 23-year-old will wear the number 10 jersey for the Boks when they take on Ireland in their eagerly anticipated Autumn Nations Series at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Saturday.

Apart from Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Erasmus also has Handré Pollard and Manie Libbok as options at fly-half and the three playmakers each started two matches during the Boks’ 2024 Rugby Championship campaign.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu missed last year’s Autumn Nations Series due to injury but returned to Test action during the Boks’ mid-year Tests and once again shared fly-half duties with Pollard and Libbok in matches against Italy and Georgia.

It was a similar story during the early part of this year’s Rugby Championship but the Stormers star was the Boks’ preferred number 10 by the latter stages of the prestigious southern hemisphere tournament.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu starts at 10 in five consecutive Tests

In fact, Feinberg-Mngomezulu started at fly-half in the Boks’ last three Rugby Championship Tests as well as their first two Autumn Nations Series clashes against Japan and France and helped his side to victories in all of those fixtures.

Pollard returned to the starting line-up for last week’s win over Italy in Turin but will not be in action against Ireland as Feinberg-Mngomezulu will have Libbok as his back-up on the bench for that match.

And although Erasmus is happy with all his options for the fly-half position, he is delighted with how Feinberg-Mngomezulu has developed in the role.

“Handré is actually also out of this game with an Achilles injury, so he’s also not available for selection. But I’m not saying we were going to select him,” said Erasmus.

“I’m not using that as an excuse. I think we would have selected Manie (Libbok) on the bench with Grant (Williams), and Sacha starting.

“And I think Handré understands that at 31. I mean, Johnny (Sexton) played until he was 38. So Handré knows he’s got another World Cup in him. I think he understands that we want to learn lessons from Sacha.

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“Every game, you know, playing in France, there under the pressure. That’s a different thing playing on Saturday (against Ireland) with (the song) Zombie playing, understanding that bit of pressure that comes with that.

“So I guess growing from another level to another level and (having) other centres next to him, we try and keep the combination of him and Cobus (Reinach) pretty tight.

‘We have nice security in Manie on the bench’

“You know, they’re also the Stormers (half-back) pairing now. But we have nice security in Manie on the bench and Grant and also then Handré and Gaza, Damian Willemse, can go to 10.”

Erasmus also revealed that although Feinberg-Mngomezulu has done well so far during his fledgling Springboks career, things will not always go according to plan in the international arena.

“I don’t know if you have a word in English called a snot klap (Afrikaans word) but you can get a snot klap, which is a lekker slap in the face somewhere and (he’ll) just (react), ‘Oh, hell! This is a different level’.

“And that’s going to happen somewhere to him. And then he must handle that. And we’ll still try to get him through all of the different stages of intensity.”

Erasmus revealed that he is impressed with the growth which Feinberg-Mngomezulu has shown in his game since making his debut for the world champions.

“In the beginning, (he was) very confident, but struggled to go and express himself without thinking he’s buggering up the game-plan and then starting to understand but listen, there’s a place for your skills in the game-plan,” he explained.

“Then starting to really talk and ask a lot of questions and then really demanding a little bit more from the guys around him.

“Because then he’s pretty much running the backline in the plays and stuff.

“So he’s always got the talent on the field, but I think he’s growing and feeling comfortable. But I know he’ll be very uncomfortable in this cold room on Saturday.”

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