DURBAN, 27 September 2025 – What began as a comedy of errors at Hollywoodbets Kings Park transformed into a record-breaking masterclass as Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu scored a remarkable 37 points to lead the Springboks to a commanding 67-30 victory over Argentina’s Los Pumas, sending the 45,158-strong crowd into raptures.

The 23-year-old fly-half delivered a performance for the ages, breaking Percy Montgomery’s 18-year-old Springboks record of 35 points set against Namibia in Cape Town in 2007. His contribution included a stunning hat-trick of tries, eight conversions, and two penalty goals – appropriately sealing the record with the match’s final conversion.

Yet for all the brilliance that followed, the opening 40 minutes belonged more to the Benny Hill soundtrack than the history books. The Springboks faithful endured a first half that tested their nerves and tickled their funny bones in equal measure.

The most bizarre moment came when Cheslin Kolbe dotted the ball down behind his own try line and proceeded to drop-kick it towards Damian Willemse for a restart. The ball came off the side of Kolbe’s boot and was gathered by Santiago Chocobares, who dotted down whilst South Africa’s players stood motionless. Referee Angus Gardner’s TMO check confirmed the surreal score was legitimate, leaving Kings Park in stunned silence.

The comedy continued as Malcolm Marx illegally collapsed an Argentine lineout drive close to the Boks’ try line, earning both a yellow card and conceding a penalty try. Earlier, Eben Etzebeth thought he’d crashed over for a try, only for the TMO to spot a knock-on by Cobus Reinach in the build-up – caused, rather unfairly, by an Argentine boot.

But even amidst the chaos, glimpses of Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s genius shone through. A sniping run from the fly-half sparked the Boks into life, eventually leading to Marx’s try from a rolling maul. Then came a moment of pure brilliance: Feinberg-Mngomezulu hacked a long kick into space and simply outpaced the Argentine defence to win the race for the ball, picking it up and dotting down.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s second try before half-time saw him step past a couple of defenders to cross the line and convert his own score, giving the Boks a slender 25-23 advantage at the interval.

Whatever captain Siya Kolisi said at half-time clearly worked wonders. The second 40 minutes saw South Africa score 42 unanswered points in a devastating display of power rugby that left the Pumas shell-shocked.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu completed his hat-trick after selling the Pumas pack a delightful dummy near their own line. Argentina’s Tomas Albornoz briefly threatened a comeback with a delightful solo try, stepping past Bok heavies, but that proved the visitors’ final contribution to the scoresheet.

Morne van den Berg, Cheslin Kolbe, Manie Libbok, and two from Pieter-Steph du Toit completed the try-scoring rout, with the Springboks running in nine tries total to secure a crucial bonus point.

The victory propelled South Africa to the top of the Castle Lager Rugby Championship table with 15 points, one ahead of New Zealand heading into the final round.

“There was a good vibe in the team and I am very happy,” said Feinberg-Mngomezulu afterwards. “We tried to play transition rugby and attack when the opportunities arose and I think we kept the balance well between kicking and running with the ball.”

Kolisi acknowledged the shaky start: “We made a lot of mistakes and they took their opportunities. The message at half-time was to stop the stupid errors and giving away penalties.”

From slapstick to sensational, it was a match that had everything – and in Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, South African rugby may have unearthed its next superstar.

Final Score: South Africa 67 (25) defeated Argentina 30 (23)

South Africa tries: Malcolm Marx, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (3), Cheslin Kolbe, Morne van den Berg, Pieter-Steph du Toit (2), Manie Libbok

Argentina tries: Santiago Chocobares, Penalty try, Tomas Albornoz