Rassie Erasmus says flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu could experience a “different level” of pressure when the Springboks face Ireland in Dublin on Saturday.
The 23-year-old will wear the No 10 jersey for the fifth time this season as the Boks look to end a 13-year wait for a win at the Aviva Stadium.
Erasmus stressed that the long-term aim has always been to build the youngster slowly, exposing him to tougher challenges each week.
“We want Sacha to learn lessons in every game. Playing in France under pressure … that’s a different thing. Playing here on Saturday with ‘Zombie’ playing, he’ll understand a bit of the pressure that comes from that.”
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Erasmus said the coaching group wants Feinberg-Mngomezulu to experience the realities of Test rugby – the good and the brutal.
“We have a word in Afrikaans, a snotklap, and he can get a snotklap in the face somewhere in a game and realise this is a different level. That’s going to happen to him somewhere, and then he must handle that. We’re trying to get him through all those different stages of intensity.”
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The Bok coach added that the Stormers playmaker has grown steadily.
“In the beginning he was confident, but he struggled to express himself. He was buggering up the game plan. Then he started to understand that there’s a place for his skills in the plan.
“He’s always had the talent. Now he’s talking, asking questions, demanding more from the guys around him. But I know he’ll be very uncomfortable in this cauldron on Saturday.”
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Photo: Luke Walker/Getty Images
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