The back-to-back world champions put in another massive shift in the second half to thump the Pumas 67–30 at Kings Park, after leading their fifth-round clash 25–23 at half-time.

Young flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu led the charge for the defending champions with a hat-trick of tries, while also slotting eight conversions and two penalties for a tally of 37 points on the night.

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu. Photo: SA Rugby

In doing so, the 22-year-old backline marshal set a new record for the most points by an individual South African in a Test, breaking the 35-point benchmark set by Percy Montgomery against Namibia in Cape Town in 2007.

The Test was a classic tale of two halves. The opening 40 minutes were fiercely contested and high-scoring, with Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Argentina’s Santiago Carreras trading penalties early on. 

The visitors briefly took the lead through a penalty try after Springbok hooker Malcolm Marx was yellow-carded for collapsing a maul. 

But despite being a man down, the Boks struck straight back through Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s first try, taking a narrow 25–23 lead into the break. Other first-half highlights included Marx’s try from a driving maul and a score from Juan Cruz Mallía, after a rare error from Cheslin Kolbe.

The second half was an entirely different story, as the Springboks’ superior quality shone through. Kolbe crossed almost immediately after the restart, before Feinberg-Mngomezulu added two more tries in quick succession to complete his hat-trick, converting both to stretch the lead to 39–23.

Although Tomás Albornoz struck back with a solo try for Argentina, the visitors simply couldn’t keep pace. Further tries from Morné van der Berg, a brace from Pieter-Steph du Toit, and one from Manie Libbok sealed a crushing victory. 

Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s prolific kicking also broke Handré Pollard’s record for the most points scored against Argentina in a Test.

The bonus-point win lifted the Boks to the top of the Rugby Championship table on 15 points – one clear of the All Blacks – heading into the final round.

Pieter-Steph du Toit Photo: SA Rugby

Reflecting on the performance, head coach Rassie Erasmus praised Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s brilliance but stressed the young pivot remains a work in progress.

“I think nobody can disagree he was brilliant today. But that’s what we always say – you can’t just throw someone in there and expect him to be world-class overnight. 

“It takes time. You grow a little bit against New Zealand, a little bit against Australia, then against Wales, and so on. I think he’s only on about eleven caps now.”

“Damian de Allende helped him a lot, Damian Willemse had a strong game, and Manie Libbok came on well. There were a lot of guys who contributed. Of course, none of us can disagree that Sacha was the man of the match – he did incredible things out there. But the road to this point hasn’t been without its bumps.

“Sometimes you just need to give guys the chance to build their reputation and their skillset at this level. He’s definitely doing that, with help from Manie, Damian, Tony Brown, Handré Pollard, and others. But nobody can deny this was a really special performance.”

The Boks will now head to England, where they’ll face Los Pumas again on Saturday at Twickenham in London.

Scorers:

Springboks: Tries – Malcolm Marx, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu 3, Cheslin Kolbe, Morné van den Berg, Pieter-Steph du Toit 2, Manie Libbok Conv. – Feinberg-Mngomezulu 8 Pen. – Feinberg-Mngomezulu 2

Argentina: Tries – Santiago Chocobares, Penalty Try, Tomás Albornoz Conv. – Santiago Carreras 2 Pen. – Carreras 3

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek