Loud and clear – Sacha FM turns up the volume for the Boks

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu is South Africa’s new sound at 10, writes Mark Keohane

There’s a new frequency crackling through South African rugby. It is clear, confident and controlled. It’s not static. It’s not noise. It’s Sacha FM – and it’s about to go global.

You don’t watch Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu play rugby. You tune into him.

And when you’re locked into the Sacha FM station, it’s all rhythm and no distortion. He plays the game like he was born with a boot made of silk and a brain made of sonar.

In 2025, as the Springboks prepare to take on the All Blacks in New Zealand in back-to-back Tests, there is no signal louder than Sacha FM.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu is the playmaker South African rugby supporters did not know the Springboks needed. Why would they?

Handré Pollard, at No 10, has won the Springboks successive World Cup titles, but for the Boks to make it an unprecedented three-peat in Australia in 2027, it needs a combination of youth and experience, and it requires the security of Pollard and the sensation of Sacha FM.

The two offer such a compelling 80-minute No 10 partnership, but in 2025 it is the international season in which Feinberg-Mngomezulu must get the greater playing time and exposure as he builds his international portfolio to dovetail with that of Pollard’s.

South African rugby has always revered its physicality. Brutal scrummaging, gainline dominance, tackles that rattle the bones of memory. But every era demands a spark – a mind that choreographs chaos. In Sacha FM, the Springboks have found that alchemist. He doesn’t just play No 10; he broadcasts it. Every movement, every pass, every perfectly-weighted kick says: ‘I see it before you do.’

Stormers coach John Dobson, who has had a front-row seat to the boy becoming the man at the Stormers, is unflinching in his assessment.

‘Sacha is a generational talent,’ Dobson tells SA Rugby magazine. ‘We knew from the moment he came through that he wasn’t normal. He doesn’t think about the game like others. He feels it. His rugby IQ is scary. He’s not going to be great – he already is.’

Dobson’s right. Sacha didn’t arrive. He interrupted.

Sacha FM: Springbok rugby’s Anointed One

From captaining SA Schools at just 18, to leading the U20 side, his rise has never been subtle. And yet, even with those lofty accolades, no one could have predicted the authority with which he would take to Test rugby.

In 2024, he made his debut off the bench against Wales. But it was what followed in the Rugby Championship that confirmed the rugby reality of Feinberg-Mngomezulu was as seductive as any fantasy game.

Rewind to the All Blacks at Ellis Park in Johannesburg in 2024.

A full house. Altitude and pressure. But from the outset Sacha FM was on another frequency.

He ran the game with the calm of a surgeon and the unpredictability of a poet. There was enthusiasm from the home crowd and envy from those wearing black. He played as if he had done it 20 times against the All Blacks.

The Boks, 27-17 behind with 10 minutes to go, won 31-27. Feinberg-Mngomezulu even had the luxury of a missed penalty kick with a few minutes to go.

The Boks won and the rugby world took notice, as they did in Australia the month before New Zealand arrived in South Africa. Feinberg-Mngomezulu started at No 10 in Brisbane and Perth and the Boks won both Tests, with the first Test win at Suncorp Stadium since 2013 a Sacha FM special.

‘We threw him into the deep end,’ said Rassie Erasmus after the Brisbane win, ‘but what I love about Sacha is he swims like he was born in the ocean. He’s got that calm. He’s got that belief. And technically – he’s world class already. He knows there are areas of his game and game management that must get better, but they will get better the more he plays Test rugby.’

Pollard, the double World Cup-winning general, remains a titan. But in Sacha FM, the Boks now have a foil; not a replacement. It’s not about either-or. It’s about the mix. The radio signal blends into stereo.

Pollard brings the grunt, the ice and the muscle-memory of winning World Cup finals. Sacha FM brings the jazz and the flavour and, with it, the ability to crack a game open in a moment. The Boks don’t just have a flyhalf. They have a broadcasting duo – static-free and perfectly in tune.

Pollard, in his third and final season for Leicester, was the model professional in his 55 matches. The club finished second in the league stage of the English Premiership and narrowly lost the final against Bath at Twickenham.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu was as effective at flyhalf for the Stormers in 2025, although his style has been in complete contrast to that of Pollard.

Two different leagues, in the Premiership and URC, but also two very different players in the No 10 jersey. The Springboks are fortunate to have both options.

Sacha FM was the standout performer in the Stormers’ league comeback to finish fifth, having earlier in the campaign languished 13th from 16 teams.

His individual reward was winning the South African URC Player of the Year award.

There was the 25-minute masterclass against Connacht that brought him three tries and his try-assist passes and cross kicks in the season were equally breathtaking.

It was his vision and fearlessness that started Deon Fourie’s try, a 60m counter-attack effort against the Scarlets, that began with an outrageous reverse pass. The try won the league’s Try of the Season.

‘I trust my instincts,’ Sacha told the media after receiving his award. ‘Since I was a kid, I’ve always believed the game talks to you – if you listen. I’ve just tried to stay tuned in.’

To borrow from Stormers coach Dobson: You can’t coach that. You can’t teach feel. You either have that radio-active awareness, or you don’t. And Sacha FM does.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s media persona is as blended in charisma as his on-field play. He is unfazed and when asked about the step up to Test rugby, he brought it back to the game staying the same.

‘It’s fast, yes. Physical, yes. But honestly? It’s just rugby. And I love rugby. I’ve been dreaming this dream for so long that it doesn’t feel overwhelming. It feels like home.’

That’s not arrogance. That’s alignment. A player who understands who he is, where he is and what he brings.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s attitude reminds me of a quote when former Manchester United forward Dwight Yorke was asked how he handled the pressure of playing in front of millions.Yorke’s response that a war-torn zone was pressure; playing soccer was pure joy.

This year Feinberg-Mngomezulu will find more joy than pressure in fronting the All Blacks at Eden Park in Auckland.

The All Blacks are unbeaten at their rugby cathedral in 50 Tests, and the last team to beat them at Eden Park was France in 1994.

The Springboks have not won at the venue since 1937.

The margins in September, against the All Blacks in New Zealand, will be tight, but it is in this claustrophobic cauldron, where players who can turn matches with vision and verve become priceless.

Sacha FM is that player. He’s the new voice of creativity in a Springbok system built on brutality. He doesn’t replace the blueprint. He adds to it. He enhances it and sharpens the edges and brightens the colours.

If 2024 was his Test introduction, then 2025 is his syndication.

Sacha FM, coming in loud and clear. From Cape Town to Cardiff. From Loftus to Twickenham and finally to Auckland, Wellington, Paris and Dublin.

He’s not just on frequency. He is the frequency.