Durban – The Springboks turned Kings Park into a carnival of tries on Saturday, running Argentina ragged in a 67-30 demolition that crackled with attacking flair, but coach Rassie Erasmus reminded everyone that the tournament’s trophy is still very much up for grabs.
The conductor of the Bok orchestra was Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, a flyhalf playing as though he had strings tied to every corner of the field.
The 22-year-old darted, kicked, and finished with the swagger of a seasoned Test veteran, crossing for a hat-trick of tries and piling up a record-breaking 37 points. It was the most ever by a Springbok in a Test match.
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Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s scintillating effort surpassed Percy Montgomery’s 35 points when the Springboks romped to a 105-13 win over Namibia in a World Cup warm-up match at Newlands in 2007.
Take a bow Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu 👏
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“Nobody can disagree that he was brilliant on the day,” Erasmus admitted, still buzzing from the youngster’s masterclass.
“What we always say is that you can’t put someone in there and immediately expect them to be world class. It doesn’t just happen overnight.
“He has grown a little bit against New Zealand, and a little bit against Australia away, and I think he only has 11 caps, or something like that.
“But I thought Damian de Allende helped him a lot and Damian Willemse played well and Manie (Libbok) came on played well and there were a lot of guys that played well, but no-one can disagree that Sacha was man of the match and did incredible things on the field.
“But in the lead up to where he was today there were many mishaps and bad kicking in other games he played.
“Sometimes you must give guys a chance to build reputation and their skillset at Test match level and he is definitely doing that.
“But there’s helluva a lot of people helping him; Manie and Damian, Tony (Brown, assistant coach), Handre (Pollard), everybody.”
The scoreboard read nine tries to three, and the Boks have now rattled home 15 tries in just two Tests.
For Erasmus, though, the real win was seeing the different moving parts of his squad beginning to mesh.
“What we’re trying to do is not just build some combinations that work, but that all of our combinations work and I guess that’s starting to click,” Erasmus explained.
“It takes time to swap people in and out and have them play in sync, but we also know how quickly that can change so we won’t get carried away.
“We want to build an understanding within the squad so that when we make changes it doesn’t affect our play. But we’ve won nothing yet in this Rugby Championship.
“We’ve had one win and one loss against New Zealand and Australia, and we know how tough Argentina are.
“We’re flying tomorrow and we’re playing at Twickenham next week and we have to win that game or it’s just another missed Rugby Championship.”
The coach’s balancing act was tested on Saturday when Cheslin Kolbe (shoulder), Damian Willemse (hamstring), and Ethan Hooker (ankle) all limped off, forcing a complete reshuffle in the backline.
The Boks barely blinked, keeping the ball moving as though it were on a conveyor belt.
“It takes time to swap people in and out and have them play in sync, but we also know how quickly that can change so we won’t get carried away,” Erasmus repeated with caution.
If Erasmus was the architect, then Siya Kolisi was the captain leading the charge across the gainline, and he too was quick to heap praise on his young flyhalf while pointing to a wider growth spurt within the squad.
Reaction from the #Springboks: “Nobody can disagree that he was brilliant on the day” 👍 #ForeverGreenForeverGold #RSAvARG
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“Sacha was amazing, not just in the way he scored tries but in the way he controlled the game,” Kolisi said.
“The guys around him helped him make decisions but when we click as a team every single player in the team can show who they are. That’s what the coaches always speak to us about.
“They pick us for certain reasons. We all have a point of difference and one of Sacha’s is running with the ball. But other players have to do their jobs to put him in the position to do what he does.
“He was really amazing today. He took charge and took leadership which is what we wanted him to do. Hopefully he can continue next week.”
Kolisi also picked out a shift in the team’s collective voice, where leadership is shared.
“What stood out for me was that I saw so many guys come out of their shells today. We believe in shared leadership. There is not one leader, and when we made a mistake it wasn’t just one voice changing something.
“We had more experienced guys listening to guys who don’t even have a double figure number of caps. And that’s what makes our team special.”
For all the fireworks in Durban, the real battle looms in London. Next Saturday at Twickenham, the Springboks face Argentina again in a title-decider that will crown the Rugby Championship’s king.
The Boks may have tightened their grip on the trophy like forwards binding down in a scrum, but as Erasmus warned, it could still slip through their fingers if they falter.
