Former All Blacks fly-half Stephen Donald has sung the praises of Springboks playmaker Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu after he shone in his side’s recent triumph over Ireland in Dublin.
The Springboks clinched a deserved 24-13 triumph over the men from the Emerald Isle on Saturday and, in doing so, they secured their first victory in this fixture on Irish soil since 2012.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu was in the thick of the action as he was pulling the strings on attack for the Boks during a 60-minute stint on the field and finished with a seven-point contribution courtesy of a well-taken try and a conversion.
The 23-year-old, who made his Test debut against Wales last year, is now firmly entrenched as the Boks‘ first choice number 10 as he has been the starting fly-half in six of the world champions’ last seven Tests.
Included in World Rugby’s Dream Team
On Tuesday, Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s impressive form in the international arena was rewarded when he was named as the fly-half in the official 2025 World Rugby Dream Team.
South Africa eventually outscored Ireland by four tries to one at the Aviva Stadium at the weekend, with Damian Willemse and Cobus Reinach also crossing the whitewash, while they were also awarded a penalty try.
Appearing on The Aftermatch with Kirst & Beav, Donald was full of praise for Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s performance and his role in the build-up to Willemse’s try which was scored during the early stages of the match.
“What a start! If you’re going to go to Dublin and for all the talk all week and all the atmosphere to start like they did,” he said. “Willemse finished in the corner.
“You can’t keep the magic man out of it, but Sacha, his little sleight of hand, his ability to read when he needed to pass.
“He sucked a couple of the Irish out. It was beautiful to watch.”
Feinberg-Mngomezulu continued to impress as the match progressed and early in the second half, he left his stamp on the match when saw off the attentions of Jamison Gibson-Park before crossing for his five-pointer.
‘That’s the dream result’
“For a first-five (fly-half) with his natural ability and size, if you can get yourself into a position where a halfback’s making a side-on tackle, that’s the dream result,” said Donald.
“Because as he showed Jamison, not a big man, halfback, he’s gassed to have to get there.
“And then if you can land a fend in the face or a chest, they got no chance because halfbacks naturally (have) shorter arms, if a fend goes out, they can’t get you.
“And that’s not being derogatory to just shorter people. I’m just saying, that’s physics.
“If you can get someone side-on like Sacha did there, and it’s a halfback that is happy days. He loves the big occasions and also, he’s so complete.
“There’s no area where you say, ‘He’s not a great kicker or he doesn’t run that often’. He ticks every box and we we’ve heard it from Tony Brown, who’s not prone to make outrageous comments. He’s put him in the (Dan) Carter and (Antoine) Dupont bracket.
“You just think he’s special and geez, he keeps delivering on the big occasions.”