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Chris Dean of Edinburgh tackles Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu of the Stormers during a United Rugby Championship match. Picture: ASHLEY VLOTMAN/ GALLO IMAGES
The return to fitness of Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu has given Stormers coach John Dobson an extra option that may be sorely needed when his team face London-Irish in a Heineken Champions Cup fixture in the English capital on Sunday.
The Stormers’ exiting was poor at the Scotstoun when they lost agonisingly to the Glasgow Warriors in a United Rugby Championship (URC) clash last weekend.
That problem could be eased if Damian Willemse returns to the fullback position where he has played most of his rugby for the Springboks.
This will be facilitated by Feinberg-Mngomezulu slotting into the No 12 jersey where he did so well for the Stormers against Zebre earlier in the season.
Clayton Blommetjies has produced some good moments for the Stormers at fullback since moving down from the Cheetahs, but he can be inconsistent and does not inspire quite the same level of comfort in the players around him that Willemse does when he slots into the back three.
With his experience at flyhalf, Feinberg-Mngomezulu brings something similar to what Willemse does when he plays at inside centre.
Form wing Leolin Zas left the field injured during the last-gasp defeat to the Glasgow Warriors last weekend.
According to assistant coach Rito Hlungwani, Zas has returned home with a minor glute tear that will, fortunately, require just a few weeks to recuperate.
That means that Suleiman Hartzenberg will probably have to continue in the wing position he played in against Glasgow and cannot be considered for a switch inside into the midfield.
“As you would have seen, Zassie came off against Glasgow and he has gone home,” said Hlungwani. “It is a tough loss, but we have got to go on and Suleiman can of course play that position.
“The rest of the guys are fit. Stef Ungerer and Sacha have been training and there are a lot of numbers they can cover. Sacha has also played centre before and that will mean Damian can go to fullback or even to the wing.”
Feinberg-Mngomezulu could also move to fullback, something we will probably see happen during the understrength derbies that will be played when the Springboks, which will include Willemse, are resting during February and March.
Hlungwani hinted that some of the selections for this week could have that period in mind.
“Maybe there will be a few rotations in a few key positions. Remember, we are playing in two competitions, and one thing we have done is pre-planned a low distribution [on workload] around players.
“It gets tricky when several locks get injured, as has been the case, but you can expect us to rotate when we can. We’d like to prevent it from being seven changes a week, but if we make a few changes on a rotational basis this week it will be nothing new from our side.
“We have only played the same team twice consecutively. Apart from Sacha and Stef, we have other players coming back to us in the coming weeks in the form of Evan Roos and Ruhan Nel, so we trust the path we have taken in terms of player rotation,” he said.
The Stormers team for Sunday’s London Irish game will be announced on Friday.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Sacha’s return gives Dobson more backline options
The return to fitness of Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu has given Stormers coach John Dobson an extra option that may be sorely needed when his team face London-Irish in a Heineken Champions Cup fixture in the English capital on Sunday.
The Stormers’ exiting was poor at the Scotstoun when they lost agonisingly to the Glasgow Warriors in a United Rugby Championship (URC) clash last weekend.
That problem could be eased if Damian Willemse returns to the fullback position where he has played most of his rugby for the Springboks.
This will be facilitated by Feinberg-Mngomezulu slotting into the No 12 jersey where he did so well for the Stormers against Zebre earlier in the season.
Clayton Blommetjies has produced some good moments for the Stormers at fullback since moving down from the Cheetahs, but he can be inconsistent and does not inspire quite the same level of comfort in the players around him that Willemse does when he slots into the back three.
With his experience at flyhalf, Feinberg-Mngomezulu brings something similar to what Willemse does when he plays at inside centre.
Nothing signed yet, says Bath-linked Bok prop Thomas du Toit
Form wing Leolin Zas left the field injured during the last-gasp defeat to the Glasgow Warriors last weekend.
According to assistant coach Rito Hlungwani, Zas has returned home with a minor glute tear that will, fortunately, require just a few weeks to recuperate.
That means that Suleiman Hartzenberg will probably have to continue in the wing position he played in against Glasgow and cannot be considered for a switch inside into the midfield.
“As you would have seen, Zassie came off against Glasgow and he has gone home,” said Hlungwani. “It is a tough loss, but we have got to go on and Suleiman can of course play that position.
“The rest of the guys are fit. Stef Ungerer and Sacha have been training and there are a lot of numbers they can cover. Sacha has also played centre before and that will mean Damian can go to fullback or even to the wing.”
Sacha is ready to rock again
Feinberg-Mngomezulu could also move to fullback, something we will probably see happen during the understrength derbies that will be played when the Springboks, which will include Willemse, are resting during February and March.
Hlungwani hinted that some of the selections for this week could have that period in mind.
“Maybe there will be a few rotations in a few key positions. Remember, we are playing in two competitions, and one thing we have done is pre-planned a low distribution [on workload] around players.
“It gets tricky when several locks get injured, as has been the case, but you can expect us to rotate when we can. We’d like to prevent it from being seven changes a week, but if we make a few changes on a rotational basis this week it will be nothing new from our side.
“We have only played the same team twice consecutively. Apart from Sacha and Stef, we have other players coming back to us in the coming weeks in the form of Evan Roos and Ruhan Nel, so we trust the path we have taken in terms of player rotation,” he said.
The Stormers team for Sunday’s London Irish game will be announced on Friday.
SuperSport.com
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