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Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Morne van den Berg could be an exciting new halfback pairing for the Springboks.
Springbok scrumhalf Morne van den Berg was given a vote of confidence by coach Rassie Erasmus earlier this week when he likened him to All Blacks great Aaron Smith. Picture: Daniel Hlongwane/Gallo Images
A possible future legendary Springbok halfback pairing will be on show this weekend when flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and scrumhalf Morne van den Berg team up to take on the Barbarians at the Cape Town Stadium.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu has already been tipped to become a Springbok great, after a superb debut campaign for the Boks in 2024, while he backed that up for his franchise, the Stormers, over the past season, winning the SA URC Player of the Season award.
The rising 23-year-old utility star is well-known for his incredible exploits for the Stormers, but Erasmus said that fitting him into the Bok system was still a work in progress, and tempering the hype around him was important in keeping him grounded.
“When our teams get together for alignment camps, that’s what we work on, how we want to play. When you get to us, you know what skillset you must have or how to play to work in our system,” explained Erasmus.
“For Sacha, like most of the other youngsters, he only has eight Test caps. Understanding what we are trying to do and believing in what we are trying to do, while still being Sacha, is what we want him to strive for.
“Everybody also hypes him up and it’s difficult to try and live up to what the people are saying … making magic every single time or doing an unbelievable thing that no one thinks you can do.
“Sometimes it’s about balance, and Tony Brown (attack coach) is really working hard with him. I think he is taking it on board and understanding what we want him to do.”
Like Aaron Smith
The 27-year-old two-Test cap Van den Berg, affectionately known by his teammates at the Lions as Krappie, is not as hyped up, but Erasmus gave him a massive vote of confidence at Tuesday’s team announcement when he likened him to an All Blacks great.
The door is also firmly open for the first choice scrumhalf position for the Boks leading to the 2027 World Cup, as Cobus Reinach (35) and Faf de Klerk (33) are into the twilight of their careers, while Grant Williams (28) is battling back from injury, and Jaden Hendrikse (25) has been left out due to poor form.
“He is such a hard worker and such a particular guy in the way he wants to get things right. Morne actually reminds me a lot of Aaron Smith,” said Erasmus of Van den Berg.
“I don’t know if that’s a good or a bad thing but Aaron Smith was a great nine. He is exceptionally fit, he was one of the guys who did the best in the fitness tests. The Lions team didn’t do too well this season so you couldn’t judge him because they weren’t always winning.
“But his output and what he tries, how he kept on fighting and how he understands what we want to do, I think that’s nice pressure for the older guys like Faf and Cobus to keep on grinding.”
