Springboks rookie Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu aims to put his “best foot forward” and put his injury trend behind him when he returns to action with the Stormers.
It’s been a standout year for the 22-year-old who made his Test debut against Wales in June going on to rack up eight consecutive appearances for the Springboks before injury struck.
Included in those eight caps were back-to-back wins over the Wallabies and All Blacks, sustaining a knee injury ahead of the second clash against the latter.
His momentum was stalled by that injury and even more so when he sustained a concussion in the United Rugby Championship clash against the Sharks which has further limited his game time.
“We can flip those around”
However, his latest return could help spark the Stormers‘ season back into life with John Dobson set to be boosted not only by his comeback but that of fellow Springboks Frans Malherbe, Deon Fourie and Ben-Jason Dixon for this weekend’s clash against the Lions.
The Captains have won just two of their opening six games of the URC season and sit 13th on the overall log but the clash against the Lions could be the catalyst to a comeback in 2025.
“I’m excited to contribute but everyone is kind of zoned in, and we all know that this is going to be a huge requirement,” Feinberg-Mngomezulu told reporters on Tuesday.
“Everyone’s training and preparing that way, and I think we are really in a good space for this weekend, we understand as a group that we’ve got everything in place, and that we are losing the small moments at the moment.
“If we can flip those around and start creating opportunities, and capitalising on those small moments, we’ll get good results – and I think we’ll be back where we’re supposed to be.”
He added: “I think it’s very early days in the URC season. I think we’ve still got a lot of home fixtures to come, and we would be shooting ourselves in the foot a bit if we didn’t feel there could be a confident outcome for the rest of the season.
“We can still turn things around quite nicely. It’s kind of like a nice pressure, to have to go and win a game in front of the faithful – and just remind South Africa that we are a top team.”
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Momentum
Momentum will be crucial for the Stormers as they aim to turn their season around and the same is true for Feinberg-Mngomezulu as he looks ahead to 2025 and re-earning his place in the Boks squad.
However, he hopes to stop the trend of him sustaining injuries when he is gaining momentum.
“It’s kind of been a trend that every time I sort of pick up momentum, I take a back seat and the injuries hit,” he added.
“I’ve done all the rehab work and done everything I could to put my best foot forward physically. I’m just hoping that I can build some momentum, play some good rugby, get some points and take it week by week in that sense.
“So for me, it’s just kind of resetting and getting back into the mix of things with the group. It has been really, really nice, and I’m just super-keen to play again.
“The break’s never nice, but it’s another time to strengthen other areas.”
“The year has been a big learning curve… Looking forward, I just want to keep this momentum.”
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/sacha-feinberg-mngomezu-out-to-build-momentum-as-confident-springboks-rookie-looks-to-remind-south-africa
