Latest

Best Boks v Argentina: The Sacha Show

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu personified a perfect storm as he spearheaded the Springboks’ 67-30 destruction of the Pumas in their Rugby Championship clash in Durban on Saturday, writes Quintin van Jaarsveld.

Published on

By

After a cagey start and early battle of the boot between Man of the Match Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Santiago Carreras gave Argentina a 9-6 lead, the Boks scored the opening try through Malcolm Marx.

The crowd was then stunned into silence. Cheslin Kolbe, having dotted down for an in-goal drop-out, merely wanted to get the ball to Damian Willemse but did so by drop-kicking it to him. The little chip skewed off his boot and was snapped up by Santiago Chocobares, who scored one of the most bizarre tries ever seen.

Some magic from flyhalf Feinberg-Mngomezulu won momentum back for the Boks immediately before another dramatic twist saw Marx concede a penalty try and a yellow card for illegally sacking the maul. However, Feinberg-Mngomezulu had the final say of the first half, dancing over for his second try to give the Boks a 25-23 halftime lead.
 
The back-to-back world champions completely blew the Argentinians away in the second stanza, running in six tries for a total of nine to become the first team to win consecutive games in this year’s Southern Hemisphere showpiece and shoot to the top of the table.
 
Our top three Springbok standouts were:

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu

It was stunning stuff from Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who wrote his name into the record books by racking up a mesmeric 37-point haul, the most by a Bok in a single Test, breaking Percy Montgomery’s previous record of 35 against Namibia in Cape Town in 2007.

The 23-year-old played as if Dan Carter and Quade Cooper had morphed into one person, lighting up Kings Park like no one had ever done before. Each of his three tries was terrific – the pace and pick up to collect his own kick for his first, the fancy footwork for the second, and the outrageous 360 dummy to complete his hat-trick.
There was the 48-metre penalty goal that started it all, the pinpoint crosskick for a flying Kolbe to grab and canter in, and a couple of brilliant breaks, all highlights of a special performance from a special talent.
All in all, his record tally was made up of his try treble, eight conversions, and two penalty goals. South African rugby has, indeed, never seen anyone quite like Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
Bet Now

Pieter-Steph du Toit

The reigning World Player of the Year demonstrated his class yet again with another tireless performance, leaving one to wonder if he doesn’t have an extra set of lungs.

The legendary flanker was omnipresent, seemingly spawning from one spot to the next, and looked as fresh in the final minute, when he scored his second try, as he did when the game kicked off.

His strong work with ball in hand included a brilliant carry in the build-up to Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s second try, a clever pick and go just after halftime, and his first try in the 66th minute.

He was industrious in defence as well, making nine tackles and producing a turnover, and was a safe pair of hands in the lineout.

Bet Now

Damian Willemse

Fresh off a Man of the Match performance at No. 12 in the record 43-10 win over the All Blacks in Wellington, Willemse showed what a multi-talented player he is with a fantastic showing at fullback.

Reverting to No. 15 to fill the void left by the injured Aphelele Fassi, the versatile virtuoso was imperious in the air, including fielding a high ball from where Kolbe’s try came afterward.

He’s always a handful on attack, and it was no different in Durban, while he also displayed his good kicking game, which included a monstrous touch-finder in the 33rd minute.

Related Topics:

Popular Posts

Exit mobile version