John Dobson says rookie Sacha Mngomezulu will be fielded in some capacity as the Stormers continue with a six-two split on the bench for the Vodacom United Rugby Championship semi-final against Ulster in Cape Town on Saturday. URC
John Dobson says it is likely that rookie Sacha Mngomezulu will be fielded in some capacity as the Stormers continue with a six-two split on the bench for the Vodacom United Rugby Championship semi-final against Ulster in Cape Town on Saturday.Mngomezulu was surprisingly named as the utility back on the bench for the URC quarter-final against Edinburgh last weekend.
“He was very good,” Stormers coach Dobson told media on Wednesday. “It was tough because while he has played for us at junior level and two Currie Cup games at 10 or 15, I don’t think he’s even played 12 at school level and we threw him into that quarter-final at 12. “He will be in the mix for this weekend, whether he will be starting or on the bench, we are not sure.”With the Stormers currently experiencing something of an injury crisis at inside centre, it has been suggested that they turn away from the six-two split between forwards and backs on the bench in order to get an extra backline player.
“The six-two split always has an element of a gamble. We are really lucky with those two scrumhalves. Paul de Wet and Godlen Masimla can play at URC level at wing. They are like Francois Hougaard. So, in a sense, you do have three backs because you don’t have to substitute the scrumhalf. It’s not as risky as people think, given that our scrumhalves can compete under the high ball and play at wing.