Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Handre Pollard and Manie Libbok will lead the line for the Springboks in Rugby's Greatest Rivalry series.
Springbok flyhalf Handre Pollard will back up Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu in their Test against Argentina in Buenos Aires on Saturday. Picture: Shaun Roy/Gallo Images
Springbok flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu is under no pressure to prove he is the man to lead the line in Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series, when he returns from injury in the one-off match against Argentina in Buenos Aires on Saturday.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu will be making his first international appearance of the season, after recovering from knee surgery, with Manie Libbok, Handre Pollard, Quan Horn and Vusi Moyo having covered the flyhalf duties in his absence.
Horn and Moyo were the flyhalves in the non-Test against the Barbarians, Libbok led the line against England and featured in the second half against Wales, Pollard and Horn shared the duties against Scotland and Moyo started against Wales.
Libbok and Pollard are clearly the two biggest threats to Feinberg-Mngomezulu starting for the Boks, but the Stormers man emphatically denied there being any competition between them, explaining that it was all about them helping one another.
“There’s always a lot of talk from outside the group about the competition for Bok flyhalf places, but I don’t think people understand how much we help each other,” said Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
“I mean, today Handre told me about the field, the dimensions of the field, how close the stands are to the pitch. We really take good care of each other.
“There’s massive amounts of respect (between us). And also, one must never forget, even though I’m growing, and this is going to be my 20th match on Saturday, I still have the utmost respect for Handre and what he’s done for the country and for this team.
“Not for a second will I see him in this competition. He’s my mentor, he’s my friend, and a great teammate to learn from.”
Erasmus backing
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus also backed up that assertion, saying that none of the three main flyhalves had a say in who was picked, and that they would all feature in Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series and go to next year’s World Cup.
“That’s not in Sacha’s hands (being the starting flyhalf). It’s not him competing with Handre Pollard and Manie Libbok. It’s Handre helping him this weekend to perform as well as he can. That’s the way we operate,” explained Erasmus.
“All three of them will definitely be in the Greatest Rivalry squad, and definitely will go to the World Cup if they keep their form. He can’t control if he gets injured, obviously. But we’re going to go with three flyhalves and they are the three flyhalves currently.”
Feinberg-Mngomezulu also said that his full focus was currently on their match against Argentina and a positive return, and not fronting up against the All Blacks later this month.
“With respect to your question, I can’t be thinking two weeks ahead. I have played the All Blacks four times now, but my immediate focus is on Argentina and the challenge we face here on Saturday,” said Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
