United Rugby Championship: John Dobson predicts a big season for Stormers star Sacha Mngomezulu
Stormers coach John Dobson is excited about his side’s future after young star Sacha Mngomezulu starred in their 30-27 victory over Zebre in Parma on Saturday.
Mngomezulu scored 22 points in his first United Rugby Championship start and showcased his playmaking abilities from inside centre as he looked comfortable alongside Manie Libbok in the Stormers backline.
One for the future
Dobson made his feelings about the 20-year-old very clear, as he sees the talented star as a key figure in the Stormers‘ future.
“He is integral to the future of this team and the union,” Dobson said. “He was absolutely outstanding today. He is so competitive and is very special.”
The coach revealed that handing Mngomezulu the kicking tee was aimed at helping him grow and outlined the Stormers’ plan for the junior Springboks skipper.
However, Mngomezulu is not the only youngster with who Dobson is happy, with many young stars pushing through the ranks.
“We tried to grow him by giving him the goal-kicking and he did really well,” said Dobson. “Our plan with him is probably to let him settle at 12 and then longer-term he could be one of the better flyhalves in this country.
“We are very, very excited about all these young players that we’ve got, whether it’s Sacha, Suleiman (Hartzenberg) or Imad Khan, Conor Evans and Paul de Villiers. We are excited about the future.”
Dobson predicts a breakout season for Mngomezulu but admits the combinations in his side will change as the Cape Town men prepare for a long season with the additional fixtures of the Champions Cup.
“Sacha was outstanding today, but he doesn’t have to start every game in what will probably be a breakout season,” explained Dobson. “Manie is definitely our No one flyhalf, Damian will play at 12 and 15 depending on how Clayton goes and our injury situation at centre.
“It’s not impossible to see Manie at 10, Sacha at 12 and Damian at fullback, if Clayton’s not around.
Long season
“The feedback around our selection this week amuses me, questions about how we left Marvin Orie on the bench for a game like this. We really have to understand that we are going to be playing a squad game this season. It’s about depth and capacity. If you think about Sacha, he has now been exposed a bit to this level, he has confidence. Whether that means he starts or not next week, I’m not sure.
“We won’t be able to field our best combinations every single week. We will have Clayton back next week and Damian will be going back home. We have to build capacity and I think Sacha’s performance was a massive step forward.
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“Unless something goes wrong, he is going to be involved in every one of our matchday 23s going forward.”
The defending champions are off to a flying start in URC II with a full house of points from their first three matches as they travel to Wales to face the Ospreys this weekend.