VIDEO: There is still a 'looseness' in Sacha's game
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu is the flavour of the month, the undoubted star in his breakout year.
There was the sublime performance in the record (43-10) win over New Zealand at the Wellington Regional Stadium in September and the hat-trick of tries in the 67-30 Rugby Championship win over Argentina at Kings Park, in Durban, a couple of weeks later.
However, it was his performances on South Africa’s year-end safari in Europe that had his fans salivating at the star’s meteoric rise.
He produced the most carries and tackle evasions (defenders beaten and linebreaks) in the year-end Tests.
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Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus was full of praise for the bravery of the 23-year-old, who has played in 19 Tests since his debut against Wales at Twickenham, in London, in June 2024.
“He is very physical for his age,” the Bok coach added.
“He sees the space, has a lot of ball sense and a feeling for [understanding of] the game.”
However, Erasmus felt that there is some ‘maturity’ required from the frightfully talented young player.
“There is still looseness in his game,” the coach said.
“[The tidying up] will come with more time.”
Erasmus said he will not discard any of the other flyhalves, even though he has seemingly moved to the top of the Springbok No.10 totem pole.
The coach pointed to double World Cup winners Handre Pollard (31), Damian Willemse (27), as well as fellow Bok and 2023 Webb Ellis Cup winner Manie Libbok (28) as quality alternatives.
(WATCH as Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus gives a brutally honest assessment of star flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s game…..)
“Having the comfort zone of letting him play and getting confidence, if it doesn’t go well, we give another player a chance,” he said of the 11 appearances for Feinberg-Mngomezulu in 2025, which included starting in four of the five year-end Tests against Japan, France, Ireland and Wales.
“We have subbed him in games [this year],” Erasmus said, referring to the Ireland and Japan games, where the young pivot played 50-odd minutes.
“He wasn’t always perfect, but he is 23. Nobody is perfect at 23.
“He is growing nicely into the role, but we will never forget the other players who we have that can also do the job for us [at flyhalf].”
His nine tries in his last six Test appearances, including the hat-trick in Durban and two doubles, have certainly made pundits sit up and take note.
On the year-end tour, he played the full 80 minutes in this past Saturday’s record 73-0 whitewash of Wales in Cardiff, collecting some impressive stats.
His nine carries produced 88 metres, he beat five defenders, made two linebreaks and scored two tries. However, the five turnovers he conceded, two failed touchfinders, and two missed kicks at goal are why Erasmus did not give him a 10 out of 10.
In the 24-13 win over Ireland, Feinberg-Mngomezulu played only 59 minutes, made four carries for 59 metres, beat three defenders and one linebreak. There were also three ‘turnovers conceded’ in this game.
He did not feature in the 32-14 win over Italy.
His most impressive year-end performance was in the 32-17 win over France at Stade de France in Paris. His 12 carries produced an amazing 114 metres, he beat four defenders and had one linebreak. In this game, there were only two turnovers.
In the tour opener against Japan at Wembley Stadium in London, a 61-7 win for the Boks, he played only 53 minutes. That included a match-high 15 carries for 77 metres, beat eight defenders and had two linebreaks. There was only one turnover.
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