With the team having suffered four consecutive defeats and inhabiting a lowly position on the Vodacom United Rugby Championship log, the pressure on the DHL Stormers is acute, but it doesn’t appear to be bothering Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
The 22-year-old eight cap Springbok has watched from the sidelines for most of the season, something that partially explains the position the Stormers have got themselves into as they go into two must-win home derbies over the festive period. The first is the clash with the Emirates Lions on Saturday, and the second is the return derby against the Hollywoodbets Sharks a week later, 28 December.
The first round game against the Sharks at Hollywoodbets Kings Park was the only taste Feinberg-Mngomezulu has had of playing for the Stormers this season, and it lasted less than half an hour. He failed an HIA test after an awkward collision with Sharks prop Trevor Nyakane, but not before he had reminded everyone of his impressive X-factor by calming Stormers nerves with a neatly taken drop-goal.
CONFIDENCE SHOULD RUB OFF ON TEAMMATES
His confidence is one of the keys to Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s rapid rise and the success in his first season of international rugby that was confirmed when he was nominated to be one of the candidates for the World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year Award. Bok coach Rassie Erasmus has said that Feinberg-Mngomezulu would make a good captain, and listening to him dealing with questions from the media in the buildup to the Lions game it was easy to see him as someone that would settle the players around him and inspire them to follow him into battle.
“We are excited, we all know how important this game is. There is big pressure but it is a nice pressure to have to go and win a game in front of the faithful and remind South Africa that we are still a top team,” said Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
The Stormers need to win both their home derbies over the next two weeks or they could be in trouble when it comes to making the top eight and securing both play-off qualification and a place in the Investec Champions Cup next season, They go into the games under intense scrutiny due to the defeats that have mounted up, but if that bothers the product of Bishops he belies any concern with a shrug of the shoulders.
“For us there is a big difference between internal pressure and external pressure,” he says.
“It is us who drive the standards in the group and that is the pressure that we feel. But since the first season in the URC we have never been the favourites, we have always been the underdogs, so what we are going through now is nothing nothing new.
“If we listen to the external pressure and and doubt ourselves we will do ourselves an injustice. We must just stick to our own standards and apply pressure on ourselves to perform. It is tough to lose games, no-one enjoys losing, but we also know that it is still early days still in the URC season, and there are a lot of home fixtures to come.”
NEED TO WIN THE SMALL MOMENTS
Feinberg-Mngomezulu is right about that. With the loss to Glasgow Warriors having come in Stellenbosch just before the November international break, the Stormers have in fact only played one URC game at their DHL Stadium headquarters in Cape Town this season - and that was an impressive bonus point win over the 2022/2023 champions Munster.
The Stormers haven’t lost a home derby since they lost unexpectedly to Saturday’s opponents in early December 2021, meaning that they have gone three years since losing a home derby. It justifies Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s equanimity during a time when the outside view might be that the Stormers are going through a crisis.
Asked what the team could do to get over the line as winners following their sequence of defeats, some of them in games where winning positions were squandered, Feinberg-Mngomezulu made it clear there was no prospect of the baby being thrown out with the bath water.
“We are keeping things consistent. We are training properly and doing our preparations properly and we believe we have everything in place. The reason we have been losing is because we have been losing the small moments, the small battles. If we can start winning those moments and capitalising on them it will be a very different story.”
HUNGRY FOR RUGBY
Feinberg-Mngomezulu had to miss both of the Stormers’ two Champions Cup games because of he concussion sustained in the last URC game, but says he’s more than ready to return to action against the Lions.
“It been a bit of a trend that every time I feel I am getting momentum something happens to halt that momentum but the rehab has all gone according to plan and hopefully I will be able to help the team by getting some points at the weekend,” he said.
“I am never happy after a loss, but I was happy just to have played in the Sharks game. I have been looking forward to this game keenly since the concussion. It has just been a case of refocusing and getting into the mix with the group. A break is never nice but it gave me a chance to strengthen myself in areas that needed it.
“I know there is a lot of individual responsibility on me, but I take that with pride. Everyone though is zoned in, this game is a huge requirement for everyone, not just me,” added the flyhalf.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu had impressive momentum with the Boks when he was injured in September and had to miss the end of year tour to the UK, but he is not thinking about his international career right now.
“For any player, franchise rugby is the step to international rugby, the route to take to being who you are,” said the Stormers star.
“So I don’t take for granted any moment I have here, and I know this is a stepping stone to becoming a better player. Right now the focus is on the Stormers. I’m just working hard here and trying to do my job correctly, and if I do that hopefully there will be some positive outcomes.
“The national team isn’t something you consciously think about when you’re in the setup here. But just executing your individual roles properly and helping the team get results will set you up for your journey… For now we just want to put our best foot forward in the URC and let the rest take care of itself. The international window is six or seven months away, a long time. Two good wins for us in the next two weeks and it will be a very different story (for us).”
Given how well he did when given his chance at the Boks, it is easy to forget that until now Feinberg-Mngomezulu had not established himself as a first choice player at the Stormers. Indeed, when he played flyhalf against the Sharks, it was the first time he had worn his preferred No 10 on his back for the Stormers.
So it was unsurprising to hear him say that the rapidity of his rise at the Boks surprised even himself.
“I had ambitions of representing the national side, yet I didn’t think it would go as well as it did go. So looking back on it all, I do feel blessed. The year has been a big learning curve. Looking forward, I just want to keep the momentum.”