Former England fly-half Stuart Barnes believes Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu is on a "fast track towards greatness." Photo: Backpagepix
Image: Backpagepix
Stuart Barnes, the former England flyhalf and current SKY Sports commentator, says Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu makes attack look like child’s play, and could become greater than All Blacks legend Dan Carter.
Barnes played 10 times for England in the early 1990s. He was a flamboyant attacker, but in that conservative era, the kicking game of Rob Andrew was preferred by the England selectors.
Barnes, writing in The Sunday Times, started by describing Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s early mistakes in his team’s 38-38 draw with Ulster in Belfast, but gushed over the 24-year-old’s attacking prowess.
“The Springbok flyhalf’s restarts are not the greatest, and while he made one magnificent try-saving cover tackle, he threw himself recklessly and randomly at a few others.
“He’s not perfect, but along with Matthieu Jalibert, he is the most exciting flyhalf in the world. Just 24, there is no limit to his potential. Remember when Finn Russell was a genius who looked as if he wasn’t bothered with the mundane elements of rugby?
“Feinberg-Mngomezulu is on the fast track towards greatness,” Barnes enthused. “His 37-point against Argentina was the warning shot for the world.
"Ulster were excellent, but when the Stormers fly-half dropped deep and accelerated on to a pass a few metres from the breakdown, there was no stopping him. Speed, a swerve, a muscular fend, and — most of all — the vision to pick the gap before others see it; it makes him the man likely to depose Antoine Dupont as the world’s most famous rugby face.
“The Springbok carves opposition into pieces. His first try bisected a couple of forwards, the next the scrum and flyhalf.
"Who cares about his (earlier) fluffed drop-goal when a flyhalf can do so much damage?
"It took Fabien Galthié a while to understand that the cutting-edge magnificence of Jalibert more than makes up for the odd missed tackle. The most important responsibility of a flyhalf is to galvanise his team.
“Feinberg-Mngomezulu makes attack look like child’s play,” Barnes said.
“Last week witnessed a debate about whether women should play with smaller rugby balls. In the 48th minute of the Ulster game, the flyhalf drifted across the field, absolutely laterally, breaking every coach’s preconceived idea about running angles.
"He waved the ball around in his right palm, the size-five ball tucked in the solitary hand like a mini rugby ball, teasing tacklers as he probed for the gap. There was something fabulously Fijian to the non-coached run.
“Long, lean, elegant, he is potentially the face of rugby’s future. In a year, the world will see him take the stage in the 2027 World Cup. Should he so choose, the Springbok flyhalf is set to become rugby’s most marketable commodity. His contract with the Stormers — perhaps coincidentally — runs out the same year.
“This flyhalf is the next Dan Carter; quicker, maybe better. Handré Pollard had been past his peak a while, but it didn’t stop the Springboks from utilising him when the rain fell in Paris 2023, and they needed a kicking game. Now they have a very different No 10 to lead them.
“The next time England fans see South Africa will be in July. Prepare yourselves for Feinberg-Mngomezulu headlines. They are set to dominate the rugby world.”