Fassi injury sees Feinberg-Mngomezulu join SA 'A' squad for Bristol clash

An injury to Aphelele Fassi has necessitated that Stormers utility back Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu joins the South African A squad for their clash against the Bristol Bears on Thursday.

Fassi played in the 28-14 loss to Munster last week, but an ankle injury picked up in that clash will rule him out for the next six to eight weeks.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu, a former Junior Springbok captain, spent the last two weeks with the Springboks as they faced Ireland in Dublin and France in Marseille. 

"It is unfortunate for us to lose Aphelele, who we have worked with before and knows our structures well for a game that we have placed huge significance on to bounce back from our defeat against Munster," said SA 'A' coach Mzwandile Stick.

"This tour served as a fantastic opportunity for him to get top-level game time and to show us that he has the abilities to put his name in the hat for a place in the Rugby World Cup squad next year, and we share in his disappointment to lose out on this chance.

"We are, however, delighted to call up a talented young player in Sacha, who has really impressed the Bok coaches with his skills, high work rate and keenness to learn in the national team environment, and we know he will bring that to the SA 'A' team.

"This will also allow us the opportunity to give Sacha valuable game time since he has not played in the last two Tests and to get a taste of playing in front of a passionate sold-out crowd at this level. He's a bright prospect for the future, and we are excited to see what he can do on the field."

The Springbok assistant coach arrived in France on Friday after making the journey from Cork to Toulon for the Test against the Rugby World Cup hosts and will head to Bristol on Sunday, where the SA 'A' team