Matfield predicts Bok 10 call for All Blacks, but differs from Erasmus

Former South Africa captain Victor Matfield has predicted that Rassie Erasmus will start Manie Libbok at fly-half for the Springboks’ first match against the All Blacks in the Greatest Rivalry, but would prefer to see Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu there.

South Africa’s first Test with the All Blacks gets underway in less than two weeks at Ellis Park, with no certainty as to who Erasmus will select at fly-half, or many other positions, for that matter, given the depth the world champions have across the field.

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu was the incumbent Bok fly-half at the end of 2025, but missed the Nations Championship series in July due to an ankle injury. He made his return to action in a 17-10 victory over Argentina on Saturday, the Boks’ final match before the four-match series with the All Blacks, but showed signs of rustiness.

Joining his Rugby Rivals podcast this week, Matfield defended the 24-year-old’s performance in Buenos Aires, and called for him to start against Dave Rennie’s side, with double World Cup winner Handre Pollard serving as his back-up on the bench.

Matfied, however, expects Erasmus to go with Libbok in the No.10 jersey, who started against England in July in what is the closest we have seen to a full-strength Springboks XV we have seen so far this year.

Fixture

Internationals

South Africa

08:10

22 Aug 26

New Zealand

All Stats and Data

“I actually went through the game again last night and I don’t think he played that badly,” Matfield said when assessing Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s performance.

“I think our kicking game was off, especially our high bombs were just too far. We always talk nowadays when you kick those balls, rather too short and too far, because otherwise you just give the ball away.

“So our kicking game was a little bit off, but he was physical. He still went for it. Remember, he hasn’t played for six weeks, so there’s another two weeks for him to get into training. You couldn’t expect him to be at his best after not playing for four to five weeks. So I thought he did what was needed, got game time under the belt.

“Again, I actually enjoyed when Handre came on, moved into 15, and Handre just brought that calmness to the team as well that we know he will bring. It was a difficult game for South Africa. It felt like they were going to take control but, again, like I said, our kicking game wasn’t on the spot, and then just stupid handling errors at critical times cost us momentum in that gap. It was difficult, and the Argentinians were really physical. They got stuck into the defence and they didn’t want to give away anything, so it was a tough Test match for us.

“I’ll still pick Sacha. I think he’s fantastic and I would like to have Handre on the bench, but knowing Rassie, I think he’s going to start with Manie and probably put Sacha on the bench.”