The man who could challenge Dupont as world’s best

United Rugby Championship: Scarlets v Stormers

Venue: Parc y Scarlets Date: Friday, 10 October Kick-off: 19:45 BST

Scarlets and Welsh rugby fans will witness a player that could develop into a generational talent when Springbok fly-half Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu runs out in Llanelli on Friday.

After his record-breaking 37-point performance for South Africa against Argentina, which helped the Springboks retain the Rugby Championship, Feinberg-Mngomezulu has no time to rest.

After a defining couple of weeks in his blossoming career, the fly-half is straight back into action for Stormers in the United Rugby Championship (URC) as he returns to the country where he spent part of his education.

His virtuoso display against Argentina felt like more than a breakthrough and was the moment his name entered rugby’s biggest conversation.

For the past five years, France scrum-half Antoine Dupont has been rugby’s undisputed global star, the benchmark for brilliance.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s performance in Durban in September was staggering – three tries, eight conversions and two penalties from the number 10 shirt once guarded by Handre Pollard and Manie Libbok.

“South Africa probably already knew about it, but they have got a proper global superstar,” former England scrum-half Danny Care told the Rugby Weekly podcast.

“He’s 23, he scored 37 points for South Africa, he is rapid, he controls the game well, he’s got incredible skills.”

In a country built on forward muscle, Feinberg-Mngomezulu offers something different.

He is a reflection of the changing face of South African rugby – a soft, velvet touch to go with all that raw power.

Even iconic head coach Rassie Erasmus could not hide his admiration.

Erasmus, who values system over stardom, says it was hard to ignore that Feinberg-Mngomezulu was man of the match and did incredible things on the field.

“Nobody can disagree that he was brilliant on the day,” said Erasmus.

“You can’t put someone in there and immediately expect them to be world class – it doesn’t just happen overnight.”

Erasmus noted Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s rise has been gradual, built through lessons against New Zealand and Australia and guided by senior figures around him.

“He’s grown a bit every week,” said Erasmus.

“There were mishaps and bad kicking in earlier games, but he’s learning.

‘Where’s he been?’ and ‘Why’s it taken so long?’ Those were questions posed by former England wing Chris Ashton’s question on the Rugby Union Weekly podcast.

For most outside South Africa, Feinberg-Mngomezulu seemed to appear from nowhere. In truth, he’s been waiting his turn.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu is English-qualified through his father, and back in 2022 Eddie Jones reportedly tried to lure him to England before he had played Test rugby for the Boks. His answer was a polite but firm ‘no’. His future was green and gold.

He made his Stormers debut in 2021 while still a teenager, impressing with his attacking flair. But breaking into the Springbok set-up was never going to be easy.

For the past few seasons, South Africa’s No. 10 shirt has been owned by Pollard, the World Cup-winning metronome, and Libbok, the free-flowing playmaker whose flair briefly lit up the tournament before he was replaced in the knockout stages.

There is a Welsh thread to his story.

In 2018, he spent three months at Llandovery College on exchange from Bishops Diocesan College in Cape Town.

He broke his elbow early on but later played a few matches alongside future Scarlets players.

Speaking to the Scrum V Podcast in 2023, he said the stint gave him “a good advantage going into open rugby” and sharpened his kicking while he was sidelined.

All of this gives this Friday’s Scarlets v Stormers match a fascinating subplot. A player who once trained in the shadow of Llandovery now returns to Wales as one of rugby’s most talked-about names.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu revealed there had been “chat of me staying in Wales, Scarlets was an option at one stage”.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu has certainly impressed two former Wales fly-halves.

James Hook has been admiring Feinberg-Mngomezulu for some time, having watched him regularly while covering the URC for Scrum V.

The former Wales and Ospreys fly-half has seen plenty of young 10s come through the league but few have excited him quite like this one.

“The guy can do everything,” Hook said. “He’s such a great player.”

Feinberg-Mngomezulu is quick enough to finish line breaks himself, clever enough to put others through gaps, and confident enough to take the game by the throat.

That’s how Jonathan Davies, one of Wales’ greatest outside-halves, summed him up.

“He looks as if he has it all,” said Davies.

“He’s got all the credentials. With more experience he’ll only get better, because the one thing that really sets him apart is his pace.”

Davies concedes he does have one huge advantage.

“I know many a Welsh 10 who would love to play behind that South Africa pack.

“He’s rarely on the back foot, and that makes a huge difference for any fly-half.

“The great 10s are often defined by the players in front of them. He’s got a world-class platform to work from.”

Davies adds a note of caution, but also excitement about what’s to come.

“The real test will come when he plays under real pressure but that might be a few years away yet,” said Davies

“What’s exciting is he’s not just a pragmatist. South Africa are evolving their game, and he’s right at the heart of that change.”

It’s still early. One match doesn’t make a career. But sport moves in moments and Durban might be the one that changes the conversation.

Having spent time with him, what strikes you is how grounded and well-spoken he is. Polite, thoughtful, confident and charismatic.

He’s also got that rare quality you can’t coach. X-factor. Dupont is currently injured but has set the world standard.

Like the Frenchman, Feinberg-Mngomezulu can do the seemingly impossible behind-the-back passes, cross-kicks that land perfectly on a winger’s chest, moments of audacious skill that defy logic.

But better than Dupont? Maybe not yet. But he’s one of the very few who shares a similar ceiling and that, for now, should be enough to make Feinberg-Mngomezulu rugby’s newest global superstar, on and off the field.