Springboks: The astonishing stats which prove Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu has arrived on the Test stage
Springboks rookie Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu faced the toughest challenge of his Test career this weekend, but in the words of Rassie Erasmus he came through ‘with flying colours’.?
The fly-half has been in sensational form since making his debut against Wales back in June, but he took things up another gear altogether against the All Blacks as he played a key role in their comeback 31-27 win.
Here is an in-depth breakdown of the numbers behind his performance.
Attacking threat
Much has been made of the Springboks’ expansive attack and how they are utilising the wider channels, but Feinberg-Mngomezulu is proving to be a major threat himself.
The Stormers ace led the charge ball-in-hand, making the most meters and carries of any of the Springboks backs. He chewed up an impressive 63 meters from his seven carries, working out at a tidy average of nine meters per carry.
He was also able to work around the aggressive All Blacks defence, as he beat four defenders over his 80-minute shift – only bested by the dazzling feet of Cheslin Kolbe (6).
Feinberg-Mngomezulu has also been so critical to the new expansive attacking system embedding itself in so quickly, and he was again in fine touch in this department too as he made 10 passes – the third most of any Springbok.
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All round kicking masterclass
The Springboks also deployed a clever kicking game in the win over their arch-rivals, and once again Feinberg-Mngomezulu was at the heart of it.
The fly-half led the charge for kicks in play, notching 15 over the course of the game. This in itself is a decent representation of their kicking game, but it was the?way?he was kicking which made it even more impressive. Despite the intensity of the game, it seemed to have a certain sense of freedom to his game, but it also highlighted his rugby IQ.
He produced some lovely grubber kicks to unlock the All Blacks defence, which in turn sent Kurt-Lee Arendse and Cheslin Kolbe into space out wide.
It wasn’t just kicking out of hand where Feinberg-Mngomezulu impressed, as he was yet again dependable from the tee. He slotted six of his eight attempts at goal – including the mammoth 61-metre penalty – and this eventually helped seal the narrow victory. Let’s not forget his clutch line kick that lead to the winning try.
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Solid in defence
The focus, of course, will be on his attacking flourishes, but Feinberg-Mngomezulu is also proving himself to be just as good on the other side of the ball too.
He made seven tackles in the victory at Ellis Park – the second most of any Springboks back – and he also boasted a 100% tackle success rate.