Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus reckons flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu passed his run-on debut with flying colours in Saturday’s 33-7 win against Australia in Brisbane.
Stormers ace Feinberg- Mngomezulu, or SFM to his fans, scored eight points (four conversions) with the boot, while setting up Pieter-Steph du Toit to score South Africa’s second try at Lang Park, and also made a thrilling counter- attacking linebreak.
SFM did, however, fluff his lines with an early penalty attempt and a kick to set up an attacking lineout from a penalty near the end of the game.
But of the No.10 and new No.8 Elrigh Louw’s first starts for the Boks, Erasmus says: “[We wanted them to experience] starting for the first time against a tier-one [rugby] nation with a lot of history and at a venue where we normally struggle…
“It certainly was not perfect, but [from the both of them] there was no lack of effort which is probably the most delighted one can be about.”
"That second half against Ireland is still bothering us" 🗣
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Rassie wants the boys to kick on as they look to win at Suncorp for the first time in 11 years today 👇
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The bonus-point-win over the Aussies puts South Africa on top of the Rugby Championship standings, with Argentina in second place after their shock 38-30 win over New Zealand in Wellington.
But ahead of the second match against the Wallabies in Perth, Erasmus warns his charges to not rest on their laurels and expects the Joe Schmidt-coached Aussies to improve after getting bulldozed by the Boks.
He explains: “Next week is a new Test and we want to give other players a chance, but that said, we know Joe Schmidt and how he can turn things around.
“He’s only had four games with Australia, and next week is a new game and a new venue, and we are expecting a big challenge.”