Because the DHL Stadium emptied after the Stormers’ glorious 56-15 win over Benetton on the weekend, a determine appeared alongside the press field for a fast chat.
It was former Springbok, Canada and Western Province centre Christian Stewart, and the topic of the temporary chat (I needed to press on with my match report for supersport.com) was the identical one which was in all probability being had at a number of different factors as the gang headed to the exits – Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
Christian was a high-quality attacking participant, and a really inventive one too, and he completed his profession taking part in flyhalf for WP and can be an astute observer and watcher. So what he stated had some gravitas.
“That was particular. That child is particular. The truth is, I don’t suppose I’ve ever seen a flyhalf this particular.”
It received me pondering. Close to the mould of participant that Feinberg-Mngomezulu is, it was exhausting to consider a flyhalf with that a lot all-around expertise, a participant who brings the dynamic that he does. Afterwards, I remembered the sensible Argentinian flyhalf of the Nineteen Seventies and Eighties, Hugo Porta. There was a man who gave the impression to be able to something and who was simply clearly a particular expertise.
Another person introduced up Herschelle Gibbs, who by all accounts was a stellar No 10 in his youth earlier than he determined to turn out to be a legendary cricketer as a substitute. A mix of him and Dan Carter. I noticed Carter play, clearly, however Gibbs I solely noticed play the game that he turned well-known for. And anyway, he by no means received to play senior rugby, so shouldn’t be a part of the dialog.
I recommended to Christian that possibly we’d been watching somebody who might in time belong within the pantheon of legendary Welsh flyhalves who nonetheless have foreign money with those that noticed them play: Barry John, who I by no means noticed play, and Phil Bennet, who I noticed solely actually late in his profession.
There have been a number of nice flyhalves over the a long time, in fact, and near residence, there’s a double World Cup winner in Handre Pollard set to return to his residence nation to play for the Bulls subsequent 12 months. Talking of the Bulls, nobody was higher at what he did than Naas Botha, which channels Johnny Wilkinson. Each of them have been kicking flyhalves par excellence.
Then, as type of diametric opposites, have been Stephen Larkham, who so suited the Wallaby fashion of play, whereas Henry Honiball was distinctive and significantly extremely rated, and feared, by his New Zealand opponents. I at all times thought All Black Carlos Spencer was underrated and Joel Stransky, like Wilkinson did for England eight years later, gained South Africa a World Cup with a drop-goal.
HARD TO THINK OF ANYONE AS ROUNDED
You’d battle, although, to consider a participant who has the potential to change between moulds like Feinberg-Mngomezulu can. It’s exhausting to think about Naas, as an illustration, scoring a hat-trick of tries, like Sacha did in opposition to Connacht. And there might have been 4, as maybe that flamboyant back-flip move that despatched Suleiman Hartzenberg in on the nook in that recreation was pointless – he might have crossed for it himself.
Point out of that and Naas cues a degree of concern – generally flyhalves have attributes, and in Feinberg-Mngomezulu there’s a combination of flamboyance, conceitedness and precociousness that gained’t endear him to everybody, that get coached out of them. Many who noticed Naas play as a teenager spoke about what a great working flyhalf he was earlier than coming beneath the teaching of the legendary Buurman van Zyl and earlier than getting uncovered to win-at-all-costs Currie Cup rugby.
Those that bear in mind, or who’ve watched video clips of the sport, would possibly consider a Bok recreation in opposition to Wellington on the controversial 1981 tour of New Zealand as a shining instance of what Naas was able to as a working flyhalf.
Extra not too long ago, in 2014, we noticed Pollard burst onto the scene as an exhilarating younger flyhalf that attacked the gainline. His first-half efficiency in opposition to the All Blacks at Ellis Park in his first worldwide season shocked the Kiwis. However a 12 months later, on the 2015 World Cup in England, he was a really completely different participant, standing again from the gainline typically and taking part in safety-first rugby, with Heyneke Meyer’s fashion being criticised by most neutrals and a few South Africans.
They have been determined occasions and possibly the Boks didn’t get the credit score they deserved at that RWC for the way in which they recovered from the loss to Japan in Brighton to come back so shut (they misplaced to eventual winners New Zealand by simply two factors within the semifinal). However the backside line is that Pollard had quite a lot of the aptitude coached out of him, one thing that the brand new Bok assault coach Tony Brown may need been intending however left unsaid when he spoke about Pollard’s attacking strengths when he first began working with him. You bought the impression Brown was seeing issues he hadn’t seen when watching Pollard at match time.
CONCERNS WOULD APPEAR JUSTIFIED
There’s a hazard somebody would possibly begin to meddle with Feinberg-Mngomezulu as a result of a number of the prima facie proof would possibly make it seem justified. If I used to be having a dialog with somebody the night time the Stormers misplaced to Ulster, it will have been a really completely different one to the one I had with Stewart. The mind fart that led to the flyhalf’s card in that recreation might nicely have price the Stormers the sport.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu jogs my memory a little bit of Australian cricketer Glenn Maxwell. Within the sense that not every thing he tries will at all times come off, however when it does, it’s simply subsequent degree. And since he’s so gifted, he tries issues others wouldn’t. Returning to cricketing analogy, the nice South African batsman of the isolation years, Barry Richards, used to generally bat off the aspect or fringe of his bat when he received bored. And received away with it as a result of he was simply so good.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu generally does issues that look outrageous. However he does it as a result of he can. There’s a little bit of impetuosity that maybe can do with some curbing, and his recreation administration positively wants bettering.
However younger flyhalves invariably be taught that via expertise. Perhaps, because the participant himself recommended in a latest media briefing with Cape rugby scribes, it will be higher for Feinberg-Mngomezulu to be himself, to proceed to stay on the sting and be all out passionate, as he put it, and be taught the inevitable classes all younger sportsmen be taught in the long term himself fairly than have what makes him good misplaced via heavy handed teaching.
ONE SMALL BUT NOTEWORTHY EXAMPLE
And there’s one seemingly insignificant but maybe nonetheless essential instance of what I’m referring to. Clearly, when I’m at a recreation, I don’t hear the commentators and I used to be on the Connacht recreation.
Watching the sport once more on tv later that night time, I used to be happy to listen to Supersport commentator Matthew Pearce choosing up on one thing I did through the recreation. After scoring one in all his tries, Feinberg-Mngomezulu threw the ball into the gang behind the dead-ball line in celebration.
Matt identified that in doing that, he was making it tougher for himself to fulfill the necessities of the shot clock when it got here to changing the rating, as it will take time to get the ball again. Thankfully, he managed it, and the strive was transformed.
However maybe like me, Feinberg-Mngomezulu famous Matt’s phrases when he watched the replay on tv, as a result of when he scored in opposition to Benetton, he initially meant to do precisely the identical factor – throw the ball into the gang. Solely this time, he checked himself and didn’t let the ball go. It regarded like a case of a lesson realized and possibly, in relation to the grander scale of his recreation usually, he may be trusted to do the identical – be taught from expertise.
After all, it will probably price his workforce within the meantime and I’d count on that Rassie Erasmus may have an extended speak with him earlier than the subsequent worldwide season kicks off. However the good that may come from his precocious, adventurous perspective might nicely outweigh any dangerous. Let’s not coach one other flyhalf’s strengths out of him. Significantly not this one, for he actually is a singular expertise.
