SACHA Feinberg-Mngomezulu had the world at his feet after starring for the Springboks against the All Blacks during the Rugby Championship.
The 22-year-old playmaker had the world of rugby buzzing with his special running and kicking skills, not to mention his audacious offloads in the tackle.
But first a knee injury and then a subsequent concussion has limited his game-time in recent months, which has seen him have to put in the hard yards again off the field.
Now that he has been cleared to feature for the battling Stormers in Saturday’s United Rugby Championship showdown with the Lions at Cape Town Stadium (3.45pm start), though, the utility back cannot wait to get going once more.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s latest absence coincided with the Stormers’ capitulation in the Champions Cup, where they lost 24-14 to Toulon in Gqeberha and then 53-16 to Harlequins in London.
But coach John Dobson kept Feinberg-Mngomezulu and many other seniors back in the Mother City last week, and they can take some confidence into the Lions encounter knowing that they have some serious weapons to get their URC campaign back on track.
The Capetonians are 13th on the log with just 11 points, having won only two out of six games, while the Lions are fifth on 19, with four victories.
Apart from Feinberg-Mngomezulu, assistant coach Dawie Snyman confirmed yesterday that fellow Springboks Frans Malherbe, Deon Fourie and Ben-Jason Dixon are likely to play this weekend if they get through yesterday’s training.
“It’s kind of been a trend that every time I sort of pick up momentum, I take a back seat and the injuries hit,” Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who is sure to start at flyhalf on Saturday in the absence of the injured Manie Libbok, said yesterday.
“I’ve done all the rehab work and done everything I could to put my best foot forward physically.
“I’m just hoping that I can build some momentum, play some good rugby, get some points and take it week by week in that sense.
“I’m not one to be happy after a loss, but in that Sharks game (where he slotted a drop goal in a 21-15 loss before going off with a concussion in the first half), I was just really happy to be out on the field again.
“I was so happy to play... That’s kept me going, and I’ve been looking forward to this fixture since I got that concussion.
“So for me, it’s just kind of resetting and getting back into the mix of things with the group. It has been really, really nice, and I’m just super-keen to play again.
“The break’s never nice, but it’s another time to strengthen other areas.”
Dobson will hope that Feinberg-Mngomezulu can bring some direction and spark a backline that haven’t made the most of the hard-won possession from the forwards.
Having shown his worth during his eight Test caps, the former Junior Bok captain is eager to make a significant difference to the Stormers’ fortunes against a fleet-footed Lions attack.
“There is so much individual responsibility, and whichever position I play, there’s a responsibility that’s on me – so, I take that with pride,” Feinberg-Mngomezulu said.
“I’m excited to contribute in that sense. But everyone is kind of zoned in, and we all know that this is going to be a huge requirement.
“Everyone’s training and preparing that way, and I think we are really in a good space for this weekend.
“We understand as a group that we’ve got everything in place, and that we are losing the small moments at the moment.
“If we can flip those around and start creating opportunities, and capitalising on those small moments, we’ll get good results – and I think we’ll be back where we’re supposed to be.
“I think it’s very early days in the URC season. I think we’ve still got a lot of home fixtures to come, and we would be shooting ourselves in the foot a bit if we didn’t feel there could be a confident outcome for the rest of the season.
“We can still turn things around quite nicely.
“It’s kind of like a nice pressure, to have to go and win a game in front of the faithful – and just remind South Africa that we are a top team.”