Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu: Boks to shut down Wallaby tormentor

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu insists the Springboks have identified the defensive lapses that allowed James O’Connor to spark Australia last weekend and believes they will close down the veteran playmaker in the return Test.

O’Connor rolled back the years with a sharp display, finding space on the edges and releasing runners with looping passes.

Replacement stand-off Feinberg-Mngomezulu says the Boks have studied the footage and come up with fixes.

“I think James had a solid game. In the first 20 minutes he kind of felt what we were about, so just bringing a replica of that would do us good,” said the Stormers playmaker. “Those passes he was getting over the top, we’ve analysed why that happened, how that happened, and we think we’ve got the solutions to stop that from happening. I wish him a solid game, but I think we’ll be able to tie him down a bit better this week.”

The 22-year-old, who has been juggling roles at fly-half, centre and full-back, says the presence of Handré Pollard has helped him settle into the Springbok system.

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“Of course, the difference with having the big dogs like Handré Pollard here is that there’s a ladder you have to climb. Learning from guys like him whilst juggling 12 and 15 only grows my game. To put on a Bok jersey is special every time, so whether it’s 23, 22, 12, 15, 10 or 6 on my back, whatever can help the team and help me get a cap for the Springboks.”

Australia’s ability to find space wide of the Bok rush defence was a talking point in Brisbane, but Feinberg-Mngomezulu played down the notion that South Africa were caught off guard.

“It’s definitely been a chat because we wanted to figure out why what happened, happened. We have a defensive system where we enforce pressure on the opposition and sometimes you have to concede a few metres on the edges. That’s nothing new to us. There were system errors leading up to those bridge passes that caught us in that position. Those are things we’ve looked at fixing. Sometimes we’re going to have to give the opposition the bridge pass and scramble like we always do and catch them on the next phase.”

Feinberg-Mngomezulu also underlined the need to stay patient as he adapts to the balance between his natural flair and the Bok fundamentals.

“It’s going to take a bit of time and I think coach is spot on. We saw this weekend what happens when you drift away from our system and our structures and the fundamentals that make us successful.

“That’s something I’m trying to hone into. It’s been a focus point for the last few weeks. I’m constantly growing into it and I’m going to be patient with it because when you enforce the Bok fundamentals, that’s when the team really thrives and that’s when we put ourselves in positions we want and the opposition in positions they don’t want.”