Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu missed a fair portion of the Stormers’ season – as well as the start of the Springboks’ 2026 Test campaign – due to some injury setbacks.
When he made his comeback in the one-off Test against Argentina earlier this month, the youngster produced an understandably rusty performance, with his contestable kicking particularly leaving a lot to be desired.
It led many to expect that Manie Libbok would start at flyhalf in this Saturday’s opening Test against the All Blacks, but Rassie Erasmus has again proven that he views things differently when it comes to his selection plans.
Referring back to the manner in which Feinberg-Mngomezulu helped orchestrate a 43-10 win over the All Blacks in Wellington last year, Erasmus said there was good reason to back the 23-year-old to once again front up on a big occasion.
“Sacha has done wonderful things for us when he’s played. He was the flyhalf last year when we beat them in Wellington,” the Bok coach told reporters.
“We look at which players understand what we’re trying to do and which players have trained the best. The players on the other side also help the guys prepare as well as they can. It’s always a tough call.
“Hopefully, if things go our way on Saturday, we can make a few changes next week.”
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu forms part of an exciting halfback partnership
At scrumhalf, Grant Williams will wear the No 9 jersey, while Cobus Reinach and Manie Libbok will add experience off the bench.
“Cobus and Grant are clearly our first- and second-choice scrumhalves at this stage. We don’t always select combinations simply because Cobus and Sacha play together at the Stormers,” Erasmus added.
Meanwhile, the Springbok coach praised Damian de Allende as he approached the significant milestone of earning his Test century.
“We are all very excited for Damian, and to achieve this milestone in this series makes it even more special,” said Erasmus.
“He’s a great team man, and servant to the game, so we hope we can make it a memorable day for him. That said, his focus all week has only been on this match, and he will certainly not let the occasion shadow what he has to do on the field.”
Kick off is at 17:10 in Johannesburg.
HOW THE TEAMS WILL LINE UP FOR KICK OFF AT ELLIS PARK
SPRINGBOKS – 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit (c), 6 Paul de Villiers, 5 Ruan Nortjé, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nché.
Subs: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Zachary Porthen, 19 Cobus Wiese, 20 André Esterhuizen, 21 Marco van Staden, 22 Cobus Reinach, 23 Manie Libbok.
ALL BLACKS – 15 Damian McKenzie, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Quinn Tupaea, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Josh Moorby, 10 Ruben Love, 9 Cam Roigard, 8 Ardie Savea (c), 7 Luke Jacobson, 6 Tupou Vaa’i, 5 Fabian Holland, 4 Josh Lord, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Ethan de Groot.
Subs: 16 Asafo Aumua, 17 George Bower, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Anton Segner, 20 Peter Lakai, 21 Kyle Preston, 22 Anton Lienert-Brown, 23 Leroy Carter.
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