Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus is not happy with rookie flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu after he “gambled” with a knee injury to tackle the All Blacks in back-to-back Rugby Championship Tests earlier this month.
Ahead of Saturday’s 11pm clash with Argentina in Santiago del Estero, Erasmus revealed that Feinberg-Mngomezulu played with a bad knee in both victories over New Zealand – starting at 10 in the 31-27 win at Ellis Park and playing off the wood in the 18-12 Freedom Cup clincher at Cape Town Stadium a week later.
The Bok mentor explains: “Sacha injured his knee before the first Test match against the All Blacks at Ellis Park.
“He played in that game and then on the Wednesday – the next week – I asked him why are you limping? And he said no he injured his knee last week.
“I then wanted to pull him out of the team because he was limping.”
Of how Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s wegstekery should serve as a lesson to other Springbok rookies, Erasmus says: “That is what our [young] players must understand – when a young guy, and we have respect for everybody, but you must be honest when it comes to injuries.
“Sacha is actually [very] lucky that we won those Test matches because he gambled a bit.”
Rassie Erasmus explains that Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu will be out of action for a few weeks after injuring his knee against the All Blacks 🦵![CDATA[]]>🤕 pic.twitter.com/DQbLOZkp9J
According to the Bok boss, Feinberg-Mngomezulu will be going for surgery to fix his bad knee and is already ruled out of selection for the second Rugby Championship clash against Argentina next week at Mbombela Stadium.
The Nelspruit assignment will be South Africa’s last before heading to the United Kingdom during November to play three Tests against Scotland (November 10), Wales (November 16) and England (November 23).
Erasmus, however, reckons Feinberg-Mngomezulu will be ready for the UK tour and adds: “He will be ready in four-and-a-half weeks.”