Sacha bashing

There has been a building negative view on Sacha, to the extent that some of these so called rugby experts, handing out their biased player ratings, have him at a 4. Well watching the game again I see a couple of dangerous gain line runs, a few brilliant high ball takes one where he was in the clear with zero support, a try saving corner flagging tackle on Jordan (the reason he got there is he could anticipate what was going to happen and put on the after burners), some great touchline kicks….and a yes some mistakes.

There was one dropped ball when Allende passed into his head from 5 yards away, maybe a few other handling errors, and clearly not great coordination in the backline. Part of the reason for that is he was trying to force the issue….throwing the pass to put the receiver through the gap. The kind of passes NZ was throwing that were routinely caught…..because the players were anticipating them.

I agree Williams and Sacha is perhaps not the best combination. Ideally he would be playing with a very steady scrumhalf that could help him with decision making and take some of the pressure off. The trouble is that steady Eddie is Reinach, ever a hesitant clearer from the ruck and no tactician. I can’t figure out why Faf was deep sixed for this guy.

The kid is a match winner, trying to play cutting edge rugby in a team that has the most basic backline tactics of any top team….a bit of a fish out of water, but the player who could change Bok rugby. And already a player who has made test winning contributions. We need a real backline coach, Brown has done nothing, whether he can’t or isn’t allowed to, is unclear. We are no different to 2019, that was just another myth. Sacha would benefit hugely from better overall backline coaching. Hell, whoever is coaching the Japanese backline is miles ahead of us.

The most concerning thing is goal kicking. Sure Cheslin did a great job on Saturday but he is injured and 32 years old. Jalibert also doesn’t kick, Ramos does….but I don’t see our Ramos. My guess is we will see Manie before the series is over. But he is no pressure kicker either and the most feeble tackler in the squad. Sacha has fabulous range, but less than optimal consistency. It would be interesting to see some test career stats on that to gauge the extent of the problem.

I can easily see some kind of bench role evolving for Sacha, that would be such a retrogressive step, but it’s on the cards. Hopefully we won’t waste him at fullback or put him at 12 off the bench.

Good summaries ... Brown ball smells

Talented player, that is for sure. Frustrating when you see a player not talking to his inside our outside backs, that playes on instinct and talent alone. Where did we see this before?

As a 10 you need to be vocal, you need to think 10 steps ahead. I don't see this. This nonsense of heads up rugby and play what you see.

Then look at the last 10 years how Ireland went from mid to top. Who was in the driving seat. Sexton, I hate this guy's, big mouth, massive attitude, but the Irish backline worked. The forwards knew what they were doing and so on.

You can't excuse his talent and then not blame him. He is not ready, he had a break out season last year and now he has the 2nd year hump. He was awful all year with flashes of brilliance.

That is him.

Rassie is doing him no favours either in not having a decent 9. Bring back Faf, drop Reinach and put Williams in the wider squad and let van den berg develop a partnership with Sasha. Simples.

But too many moving parts, players can never get used to each other

Sorry guys but from the other side I think Sacha is way overrated. Reminds me of a headless chook the way he played on Saturday. Hell if he can’t organise his backline with all the front foot ball the Boks had in the first half with the ABs in full reverse mode, he certainly wasn’t going to get any better once our forwards gained parity in the second half!
Pollard back I would think. May not be exciting but has a far cooler head in tight situations.

Help me understand how you guys come to your conclusions?

Let's start by how often Sacha got the ball. Then how many times he kicked and how many times he passed.

He is under instruction kick basically everything.

How are you meant to organise a backline, spark plays, and be a team guy when you have to kick every single ball that comes to you?

I'd love to know what communication you guys are talking about. There are basically three things that happen 99% of the time with the Boks...

The ball goes from 9 to pod...bash. 9 gets the ball and box kicks...everybody has to chase. Sacha gets the ball and is under instructions to kick it.

What communication is required from Sacha beyond what is easily discernible?

But here's a question for you boys, since you claim he's not ready. What is Sacha's win percentage starting at 10 for the Boks.

The answer might surprise you. And it doesn't line up with the narrative that he's not ready. The problem isn't the player, it's the moronic gameplan. The same game plan that lost us the chance to break Eden Park.

If, on Saturday, we again fail to use our backline, I honestly hope the ABs put an ever bigger score on us.

But KC, honestly, for any player of colour to make your grade, is almost impossible. I mean, you don't even rate Willemse and think he's apparently also too erratic.

Spot on Moz - Sacha is the most gifted player in the game and needs to be cherished not ignorantly disregarded

Moola you are clueless

"Brown has done nothing"

I only see a some remnants of his influence occasionally when our forwards offload.

Some of you are defending Sacha like he's already the finished product. Make no mistake, Sacha is very talented but talent alone doesn't win you Test matches.

You can't squeeze a player ready. He has to become ready on his own, and the way he played on Saturday showed he's not completely there yet.

Sacha mostly tries to beat the opposition team on his own, and he does that also by the Stormers. He doesn't create and distribute for his fellow backline players. Be honest, do you see him controlling the game at the Stormers week in and week out?

He doesn't have a cool head in pressure situations yet. He needs to be managed properly, not thrown in and expected to just be "super."

I don't believe Rassie instructed him to play like that. If he did, then Rassie is a massive fool and it shows that Rassie is actually clueless. I think it's more likely that Sacha was in over his head.

The better option right now is for him to play of the bench and Pollard starts. Pollard needs to teach him, guide him, and take the pressure off.

This way he can hone his skills, and learn how to control a game.

I agree with King on Sexton though.

Ag, just in general I wish the Bok backs could score the types of tries the Irish do.

Someone said the Aussies would love to have a player like Sacha. He’d fit right into the Australian setup, with his game flourishing alongside teammates who share his mindset. Instead, he’s stuck in a rut with two pretend centres and a game plan that constantly falls back on kicking.
I honestly don't believe there's a coach in the country who can coach Sascha.

The irony of Moz opinioning on player bashing...LOL

I've been watching rugby for about 55 years. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu is the most talented player I've ever seen.

Those of you who want to write him off after a few disappointing performances, go right ahead . . . he's going to apply liberal amounts of egg to your faces.

I have a problem with the game plan he's expected to play and I won't deny he's made a few errors in his last few games, especially his kicking out of hand . . . but this guy has the goods. If you can't see that then the problem is with you, not with him.

If I had the choice right now for the next test between Dan Carter at his best and SFM as he is right now, I'd pick Sacha in a heartbeat.

PS I also think a lot of players would have their confidence knocked if they made a few errors and got relegated to the bench but I think Sacha knows how good he is . . . and not in an arrogant way. He's still going to be a Springbok legend. This is just a speed wobble.

I would just say we need to stop hyping up young players. I remember Johan Goosen being the next best thing, 12 test matches as a 21 year old and then he made a series if really bad choices. He got to 30, came back and showed glimpses of his brilliance but could never perform consistently, always injured.

Sasha biggest hurdles will he his ego and injuries.

If you look at the two greatest flyhalf in modern rugby. Wilkonson and Carter. I'll probably have to throw in Sexton no matter how much I hate this guy.

They all went through the same. The former being very humble. Yet, they all knew how to bring the best out of their backs. Johny became one of the greatest kicking 10s, where he use to be really physical, same as Sasha, Sasha even more so. Carter was just everyone target because he was so dangerous. But all 3 had an impeccable kicking game.

All Sasha offer right now is his running capabilities, can't find his backs, holds onto the ball way too long and never set up any play.

His kicking is bloody awful, yes he can land a few long range kicks but they are not controlled. Kicking the ball out on the full, to deep on his restart, cross field kicks are missed time, his runs are over done. That was this Saturday against the Kiwis, a scrum on the half way line !!!

So where is the talent? You are looking at the wrong traits. Sexy video highlight reals, cutting line, catching his own kicks, running into space, some flashy dummy and so on. Oh, he is so talented. Best 10s are the ones that don't always stand out but can step up. It would be different if Dud or Kriel knocked the ball on, forward passing, notting setup on their runs and so on. But I didn't even see these guys. Just Sasha running between them.

The guy is 25 already. His had 15 test, 3 full seasons of first class rugby with 1600 min under his belt this season alone.

Yet, the whole team implodes around him. Did you not look at his Stormers stats?

Talent is one thing, flashy talent, massive "houding'. Afrikaans for attitude

If he can pull it together and actually work on the fundamentals and looked at what the 3 I mentioned great he'll go a long way. But I don't see any of those qualities in him

Sacha is 24, relatively inexperienced, and competing at the highest level of rugby.

When Libok got onto the field, he tried to get the backline running. However, we had the same problem as Sasha. His centres don't know how to run lines to provide options on attack.

It also did not help that the Bok forwards started to implode in the 2nd half, with the bench making no impact.