Is Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu a future Springbok captain? Jean de Villiers thinks so

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu of South Africa is in action during the Qatar Airways Cup match between South Africa and Wales at Twickenham Stadium in London, United Kingdom, on June 22, 2024. (Photo by Action Foto Sport/NurPhoto) (Photo by Action Foto Sport / NurPhoto / NurPhoto via AFP)

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu of South Africa is in action during the Qatar Airways Cup match between South Africa and Wales at Twickenham Stadium in London, United Kingdom, on June 22, 2024. (Photo by Action Foto Sport/NurPhoto) (Photo by Action Foto Sport / NurPhoto / NurPhoto via AFP)

Published Sep 10, 2024

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Springbok flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu has had an amazing breakthrough season in the green and gold.

The 23-year-old made his Test debut earlier this year against Wales and has taken to international rugby like a duck to water.

Whenever he’s been thrown in at the deep end, he’s come out with flying colours and impressed fans and pundits around the world.

And over the last couple of weeks, he’s put his hand up and played a role in helping the Springboks to back-to-back victories over both the Wallabies and the All Blacks.

One pundit he’s impressed is Springbok legend Jean de Villiers, who backed him to one day lead the men in green and gold once Siya Kolisi steps down from the role.

Speaking to Hanyani Shimange, Schalk Burger and Tim Cocker of Eggchasers on the Boks Office podcast, De Villiers said: “I’ve come to the realisation that Sacha is very much a potential next captain for South Africa.

“If you think age-wise, if you think his pedigree in terms of leadership — as Baby Boks captain, that’s the big question for me ‘who will be the next captain?’

“We’ve got a lot of guys that can do the job, but they’re very much in the same age group as Siya, so who is the next captain? Obviously Salmaan [Moerat] being capped now, so it’ll be interesting to see the development there,” said De Villiers, who captained the Springboks on 37 occasions.

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