Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu starts at flyhalf for the Springboks in the opening Test of the Great Rivalry series against New Zealand, with Rassie Erasmus citing the 22-year-old's track record against the All Blacks and his training performances as the primary drivers behind the selection.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu wore the No.10 jersey when South Africa dismantled New Zealand 43-10 in Wellington last year — a 33-point margin that remains the heaviest home defeat in All Blacks history, with 36 of those points scored in an unanswered second-half blitz. Erasmus leaned on that experience explicitly when explaining the call, which sees Feinberg-Mngomezulu replace Handré Pollard as part of seven changes from the side beaten 17-24 in Auckland the previous week.
"Sacha has done wonderful things for us when he's played for us. He was the flyhalf last year when we beat them in Wellington," Erasmus said on Thursday.
Erasmus was direct in dismissing the idea that the Stormers combination between Feinberg-Mngomezulu and scrumhalf Cobus Reinach — who also starts — was a factor. "We don't always put combinations together because Cobus and Sacha play together at the Stormers. We don't look at that. We look at which player understands what we're trying to do and which player trained the best."
The flyhalf contest between Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Pollard and Manie Libbok was described as a difficult call, with the scrumhalf position equally competitive. Erasmus noted that Morne van den Berg, Grant Williams and Herschelle Jantjies are all pushing hard, though he indicated Reinach and Williams are currently the top two nines in the squad's pecking order.
The selection sits within a deliberate rotation strategy shaped by Erasmus's reading of how four-Test series are decided. Drawing on his experience from the Lions series and earlier rugby, he argued the series will be settled in the third or fourth match, making squad depth and fitness as important as any single result.
"The game will probably be won in match three or four," Erasmus said. "Obviously if you win the first match, you're in with a better chance... but the decider will always be match three."
He indicated further changes are possible after the first Test, with the explicit aim of keeping the full squad primed and invested throughout the series.