Former Springboks fly-half Joel Stransky has thrown his weight behind Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu in the battle to be the Stormers’ first choice pivot.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu is currently sidelined due to a concussion suffered while on duty for the Stormers in their United Rugby Championship (URC) match with the Sharks in Durban earlier this month.

However, Stormers defence coach Norman Laker revealed on Tuesday that the young Springboks playmaker is close to a return to action.

Although he will not be available for selection for this weekend’s Champions Cup clash against Harlequins at Twickenham Stoop, he should be in the mix when they face the Lions in a URC match in Cape Town on December 21.

Meanwhile, fellow Springboks fly-half Manie Libbok is also ruled out after he was hospitalised in last weekend’s Champions Cup clash with Toulon following a horrible concussion which resulted in replacement forward Yannick Youyoutte receiving a red card.

With Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Libbok on the sidelines, it means that Stormers director of rugby John Dobson will probably turn to Jurie Mathee to start at fly-half against Harlequins on Saturday.

Springboks duo set to battle for Stormers fly-half berth

Although they are both currently injured, Libbok and Feinberg-Mngomezulu are the players who are expected to battle it out for the Stormers’ number 10 jersey.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu is one of South Africa’s best utility players and can play in several other backline positions, but Stranksy feels he should be the Stormers’ starting fly-half when Dobson has all his players fit and available for selection.

“I’m a believer that you play your best player in his best position,” the 57-year-old told Planet Rugby. “And I think Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu is the next Springbok fly-half.

“I can see he has a massive future ahead of him.

“I think he was outstanding (in 2024). He had the most chances this year (at fly-half for the Springboks). And almost immediately, he’s close there already.

“I would be picking him.”

Stransky admitted, however, that it will be hard on Libbok. who has also shone for the Stormers and played a leading role for them when they won the inaugural URC title in 2022.

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“But I would really feel for Manie Libbok,” he said. “He has this ability to do things other players can’t do.

“He lights the field up at times. He’s so creative. But I would not want to see Sacha playing out of position just to accommodate another player.

“I think you want to play your best player in his position.”

The Stormers head into their clash with Harlequins after suffering a defeat against Toulon in their Champions Cup opener in Gqeberha last week.

They are also struggling in the URC as they are currently in 13th position in the standings after winning just two out of six matches.

Injuries have wreaked havoc in camp as, apart from Libbok and Feinberg-Mngomezulu, fellow Springboks Damian Willemse, Steven Kitshoff, Frans Malherbe, Deon Fourie and Evan Roos are also currently crocked.

Expects Stormers to bounce back

Stransky admits that it’s not nice to see the men from the Cape struggling without some of their star players but expects them to turn the corner at some stage this season.

“Rugby is cyclic. It goes in cycles,” he explained. “And I think in any squad, if you have some really massive injuries, you’re going to suffer.

“And obviously they’ve suffered. Dobbo’s (Dobson) doing the best he can with limited resources.

“I feel for them. Those injuries have cost them. I mean, if you look at the Sharks now. The Sharks have got some injuries now.

“They’ve lost Eben Etzebeth to injury this past week. They’ve got one or two others (who are also injured).

“So, it doesn’t matter how big your squad is. It doesn’t matter how much depth you’ve got. If you lose two or three of your top players, you’ve lost 20% of your team, you know? It’s tough to replace them.

“And the Stormers are in that position but they’ll come back.”

READ MORE: Joel Stransky highlights key aspect needed for Springboks to beat All Blacks at Eden Park

Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/springboks-legends-blunt-verdict-on-manie-libbok-v-sacha-feinberg-mngomezulu-debate