Lucky Maree
England coach Eddie Jones has never been scared of throwing a cat or two among the pigeons.
Since the time he humiliated the Springboks as coach of Japan, he has been a thorn in the side of South African rugby. And this includes reneging on the contract that would have made him Stormers coach after that fateful World Cup in 2015.
Losing to the Springboks in the 2019 World Cup final silenced him for a while as he and the sullen England team slinked off the pitch, but now he’s back making noises again.
By indicating that he is interested in Sacha Mngomezulu, the Stormers’ young prospect, he is forcing the hand of the Springbok management.
Strangely enough, not much is known about the young rugby player who was born in 2002. On Facebook he goes by the name of Sacha Feinberg Mngomezulu. His mother’s name does not appear anywhere, but it is safe to assume that Sacha uses his parents’ surname.
He qualifies to play for England as he has an English passport through his SA-born, English father, Nick Feinberg, who writes, among other things, a sports column for the Daily Voice.
With a World Cup coming up Sacha “Feinberg” could be a great player to have in an international squad.
Whether Jones is serious about poaching Sacha or not, South African director of rugby Rassie Erasmus, Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber and Stormers coach John Dobson, – whether publicly or privately – will have to respond.
While it is way too early to suddenly proclaim Sacha as the next Cheslin Kolbe, James Small or Breyton Paulse, Jones’ move means the player will now have to make some serious decisions that a 20-year-old shouldn’t be making.
Although his performance for the Stormers last week was bone-chillingly lovely to watch, playing against “the mighty” Zebre in idyllic Cape Town weather is not exactly the same as playing against Ireland’s national side in November, is it?
And international rugby is littered with overnight sensations who fade after one or two games.
The voice of reason has come from Breyton Paulse who told News24 that Sacha needs to be guided by the people close to him.
“He will require substantial guidance from his immediate support structure,” said Paulse, stating the obvious.
Sacha’s track record certainly indicates a trajectory to Springbok stardom, but proclaiming him as an “overnight sensation” is not only an overworked cliché, it is also downright dangerous.
For the match against the Ospreys in Swansea, Sacha Mngomezulu is on the Stormers bench and that is exactly where he belongs. Let him stay there, for now.
You can see Eddie Jones with his little darting eyes, wringing his hands and grinning like a naughty garden gnome at the ruckus he is causing, can’t you?
There is a lot of rugby still to be played but it is not unreasonable to expect to see Sacha in the Springbok squad in the tour to Ireland, France, Italy and England in November. Whether he makes it onto the bench remains to be seen. One hopes that the South African chain of command from Erasmus, through Nienaber down to Dobson will, take a mature approach to Sacha’s future.
Pictured above: Sacha Mngomezulu
Image source: @SARugbyMag
