Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu must earn his stripes as the future Springbok flyhalf after coach Rassie Erasmus gave him his first start in Saturday’s 6.30am Rugby Championship Test against Australia in Brisbane.
Erasmus picked a Bok starting team which sports 12 changes from the one that beat Portugal 64-21 in Bloemfontein last month, with lock RG Snyman forming a lock partnership with the returning Eben Etzebeth, while scrumhalf Cobus Reinach and wing Kurt-Lee Arendse are the other two survivors.
Stormers yster Feinberg-Mngomezulu, or SFM as Bok fans are starting to call him, played off the wood in the Portugal Test and replaced the dropped Manie Libbok in the No.10 jersey, with Erasmus making the bold decision to select double World Cup winner Handre Pollard on the bench.
Some might see SFM’s starting debut at 10 in only his fifth Test as a changing of the guard, but according to Erasmus the rookie now gets another chance to swim at the deep end as the Boks continue to build their squad depth.
Erasmus tells the Daily Voice: “As we say here in camp: ‘We can’t look too far ahead and forget the present, but we also can’t just look at the present’…
“I would not say this is the change of the guard, it’s giving guys opportunities. It’s [only] his fifth cap and we don’t want to go to a World Cup with a guy that only has eight or nine caps.
“They have to earn their stripes if this is to be a changing of the guard.”
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Elrigh Louw will make their first Test starts for the #Springboks on Saturday - more here: https://t.co/72uaJ1UzTG 👏#ForeverGreenForeverGold pic.twitter.com/pQLlnFtACa
Springboks: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Elrigh Louw, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 RG Snyman, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche.
Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Ben-Jason Dixon, 20 Marco van Staden, 21 Kwagga Smith, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Handré Pollard.
🗣️ "He can play 7, he can play 8. He's a fast player, he's a physical player."
Rassie Erasmus on what he's hoping Elrigh Louw can bring to the party this weekend against Australia. pic.twitter.com/tYkVkpLilw