His club coach, John Dobson, made a vigorous defence of him last week and slammed social media critics for losing the plot, but Springbok and DHL Stormers flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu is doing what he should be doing by treating it like water off a duck’s back.
The 24-year-old, who will play his landmark 50th game for the Stormers in Saturday’s top-of-the-log Vodacom URC clash with Glasgow Warriors, was an excellent soccer player when he was young and still supports the sport avidly. So he was able to draw a comparison with soccer when talking down the impact that the barbs sent his way after games have on him.
“I do follow social media so of course I do see it but you shouldn’t feel sorry for oneself about it. If you watch football, it is much worse there,” said Feinberg-Mngomezulu as his team started their preparations on Monday for Saturday’s last home league match of the season.
“If you see what the players from Real Madrid and Barcelona have to put up with, what happens with me or with other rugby players is small fry in comparison. As long as the coaches are happy with what I am doing and how I am playing, that is fine with me. The little comments don’t deter me. Mainly as I say because of my knowledge of what people in other sports have to contend with.
“There is no point in putting my tail between my legs, rolling up in a ball and crying about it,” he added.
LOSS TO CONNACHT WAS 'A DAGGER TO THE HEART'
The Stormers, currently second on the log and keen to nail down a first-ever top spot finish on the URC log, suffered a serious setback at the weekend when they lost unexpectedly to Connacht, which puts them under pressure to win their remaining three league games - Saturday’s game against Glasgow and then the away matches against Ulster and Cardiff in May.
Ever a realist and straight talker, Feinberg-Mngomezulu made no attempt to minimise the impact of the 33-24 loss on the Stormers’ home ground, but also said it might prove a timely wake-up call.
“As far as how we’re feeling, it was a good reality check,” said Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
“It wasn’t just the loss, it was the way we lost, it was a proper dagger to the heart with that intercept and try under the post and us thinking about stopping the conversion. That’s where we were at, and it wasn’t nice. It’s caused a lot of honesty already today and some hard chats that maybe wouldn’t have happened if we had won that game.
“We’re now ready to go for that last three game stretch. There’s no more time for fluffiness. We want to get the job done and make Chippie (Solomon) proud at the end of it.”
MEMORY OF CHIPPIE WILL CONTINUE TO FUEL THE TEAM
The death of the Stormers’ long-standing team manager, Solomon, meant it was an emotional week for the squad building up to the Connacht game, and although skipper Ruhan Nel and Dobson made a point of not using it as an excuse last week, the events of the week will have weighed heavily on the players. And with Solomon’s funeral scheduled for Tuesday, into this week too. However, Feinberg-Mngomezulu said it would be easier this week than last week.
“Firstly, regarding Chippie, that will fuel us not just on Saturday but for the rest of the season. It is better this week. Compared to last Monday.”
Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who has captained the Stormers this season and probably will become the permanent team leader in time, appeared to agree with the general sentiment that the Stormers conspired against themselves against Connacht and in so doing learned lessons they will apply against the log leaders in Saturday’s early afternoon shoot-out at the DHL Stadium.
“From a rugby point it (the blame for the loss to Connacht) should fall onto the players, and not the coaches,” said the flyhalf.
“We just lacked know-how and common sense. We didn’t adapt fast enough to the conditions and the challenge we faced and then crucial errors cost us big momentum swings that ultimately cost us the game. We are going into this game definitely aiming to be very different from that viewpoint.”
NEEDING A WIN FOR A MEMORABLE 50TH
He knows it won’t be easy though, and says only a win will make him feel that his 50th game in the Stormers jersey was something worth remembering and celebrating.
“I struggle to look at positives when the team loses,” said Feinberg-Mngomezulu with regard to improvements he’s made to some aspects of play, most notably his place-kicking from the tee.
“I am happier from a statistical point of view. I am doing the job the best I can, but nothing is good enough if you don’t win the game. I am not focused now on my 50th. I won’t think about it until Sunday morning. I just want to prep properly and effectively with those around me, because I know it only becomes a great occasion if we win the games. If we lose, there won’t be great connotations around my 50th, it won’t be a great memory. I want it to be a good memory.”
He indicated that the result against Connacht should fuel a response from the team.
“We have got our backs against the ropes, which in some ways is a great position to be in. We know the importance of this fixture. We know we need to bank as many points as possible at home and last week we failed to do that. Glasgow have a good coach who seems to know how we play so we must just do our best to disrupt them.”