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Springboks legend labels bold No. 10 selection call ‘a good surprise’
By Finn Morton
Rassie Erasmus has thrown a selection curveball before the Springboks’ Rugby Championship opener against the Wallabies in Brisbane by naming young gun Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu in the starting side at flyhalf.
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Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 22, entered the Test rugby arena off the bench in the Springboks’ big win over Wales at Twickenham a couple of months ago. The exciting prospect out of Cape Town has since added impact as a replacement in another three Tests.
But the four-time world champion Springboks will return to Feinberg-Mngomezulu as their leader in attack with Erasmus naming the four-Test playmaker at No. 10. Rugby World Cup hero Handre Pollard will, surprisingly, come off the bench.
Pollard joins other replacements including Malcolm Marx, Kwagga Smith and Grant Williams on a fairly star-studded bench. These men will look to make a difference if and when they’re called upon as the Springboks look to win their first Test in Brisbane since 2013.
The Springboks’ 1995 Rugby World Cup drop goal hero, Joel Stransky, has branded the selection of Feinberg-Mngomezulu in the starting side and Pollard on the bench as a “good surprise” as prepare to begin their quest for Rugby Championship glory.
“No, I don’t think anyone predicted he would start. I think that’s a little bit of a surprise but I think it’s a good surprise,” Joel Stransky said on SENZ’s Scotty & Izzy.
“We’ve been looking at our Springboks side for a few months now saying, ‘When is Rassie going to bring the young guys in?’ Because we’ve got a lot of older guys there.
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“Is he going to be courageous and do it before the Irish Tests? Will it be before The Rugby Championship? And he’s done it now. He’s brought in a few young guys.
“I think the timing is good.
“Sacha is a wonderful player. He’s an amazing young man, he’s a wonderful player and I think he’ll slot in quite comfortably.”
The selection of Feinberg-Mngomezulu in the starting side may have raised some eyebrows but there’s no denying this is an exciting opportunity for the young No. 10. Australia are unbeaten from three Tests this year but South Africa will still be considered favourites by most.
The Wallabies got the better of Wales in two Tests last month before rounding out their confidence-building July series with a 40-29 win over Georgia in Sydney. Australia will look to extend their unbeaten run to a fifth Test when they take on the world champions.
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According to The Roar, Ben Donaldson is expected to win the race to start in Australia’s No. 10 jersey which pits the somewhat inexperienced pivot against another star on the rise. If that’s the case, this has the makings of an intriguing positional battle.
“(Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s) a young guy. You guys haven’t learned the fear of failure yet. They haven’t had all that raw talent coached out of them.
“It will suit him, but in the same breath, I’m not sure the chaos will suit some of the older players.
“I think we’re a well-established, we’re a settled team – he will bring a spark and he will bring something different but we will still want to play our game which is brute force, savage game of rugby that just dominates physically and bullies you into the ground.”
