Stormers v Sharks: Five takeaways as Springboks star is visitors’ ‘one-man wrecking machine’ while Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu flops again
Sharks centre Andre Esterhuizen and Stormers fly-half Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (inset).
Following the Sharks’ impressive 30-19 triumph over the Sharks in their United Rugby Championship (URC) derby at the DHL Stadium in Cape Town on Saturday, Planet Rugby picks out five takeaways from the thrilling action.
The top line
The Stormers came into this fixture as the overwhelming favourites as they were sitting pretty atop the URC table with eight wins from as many matches while the Sharks were languishing in 14th spot in the standings.
It was a totally different matter though as the Durban-based outfit dominated from the outset and stunned the home fans when Jason Jenkins opened the scoring after just five minutes with Jordan Hendrikse adding the extras, before Damian Willemse struck back with a try of his own shortly afterwards.
Rookie Sharks speedster Jaco Williams then scored their second try with Hendrikse slotting the resulting conversion and a penalty to give the visitors a 14-5 lead midway through the half.
In the 22nd minute, Willemse dotted down again and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu converted which meant the match was evenly poised with the Sharks leading 17-12 at half-time.
The visitors started the second half in similar fashion to the first when Phepsi Buthelezi dotted down soon after the restart and the Sharks continued to hold an edge over the home side as the half progressed.
The Sharks’ dominance was rewarded when the outstanding Andre Esterhuizen went over for their fourth try in the 73rd minute and although the Stormers were rewarded with a penalty try in the game’s dying moments, it wasn’t enough to secure the victory and they had to settle for their first defeat in the competition for this season.
Andre Esterhuizen leads the way for the Sharks
The Springboks’ attack coach Tony Brown described Esterhuizen as a one-man wrecking machine after several outstanding showings at Test level in 2025 and he replicated what he did for the Boks in this match.
The 31-year-old came to the fore with an exceptional all-round performance in this encounter as he took the fight to URC’s table-toppers for the entire match and walked off the field as a deserved victor.
From his excellent decision-making and calm leadership as captain, to his brilliance on attack, where he made a match-high 11 carries, and defence, which saw him putting in some big hits and a superb try-saving cover tackle on Stormers speedster Leolin Zas, Esterhuizen did it all and emptied the tank for the full 80 minutes.
And just like he did for the Boks last year, the hybrid player finished this match amongst the forwards when he shifted to the flank in the final quarter and his efforts were rewarded when he scored a deserved try which also secured a bonus point for the visitors.
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu flops again
Despite catching the eye with several outstanding performances for the Springboks in the international arena in recent seasons, the golden boy of South African rugby has not been able to replicate that form for the Stormers of late.
Prior to this encounter, the Stormers have played three matches in 2026 – against the Bulls in the URC and the Investec Champions Cup fixtures against Harlequins and Leicester Tigers.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu was amongst several Springboks in the Stormers camp who were rested for the defeat to Quins but, although he started in both victories against the Bulls and Leicester, he did not perform to his usual high standards in both those matches.
It was a similar story against the Sharks as the highly rated playmaker battled to get going and although he gave his all to the cause, he flopped again.
While he showed flashes of brilliance, it was another game where he seemed to try too hard at times and his decision-making, especially as captain, proved costly in the grander scheme of things.
Stormers’ other Springboks also fall flat
Apart from their skipper on the day, Feinberg-Mngomezulu, the rest of the Stormers’ Springboks contingent failed to deliver the goods in this clash and that was a big reason for their defeat.
In the backline, Willemse combined well with Feinberg-Mngomezulu during the opening half and the former was rewarded with a brace of tries but he became less influential as the match progressed.
It was a similar story for experienced campaigners like Warrick Gelant and Cobus Reinach, who showed flashes of brilliance, but those moments were few and far between and both were also guilty of making several errors when under pressure.
Amongst the forwards, it was a tough day at the office for the front-row trio of Andre-Hugo Venter, Ntuthuko Mchunu and Neethling Fouche.
The latter duo battled in the scrums which resulted in them being yanked off early in the second half and it was a similar story for Venter as he struggled to find his lineout jumpers which also resulted in him being replaced after 55 minutes.
Meanwhile, Boks lock and regular skipper Salmaan Moerat came off the bench in the 45th minute before being sin-binned shortly afterwards but played no further part in this match as he limped off in the 57th minute with Ruben van Heerden coming on to replace him.
Sharks bench make a big impact
Sharks interim head coach JP Pietersen deserves plenty of credit for the way he used his replacements off the bench as they made a big impact in this victory.
There were some raised eyebrows when Springboks star Ox Nche was named on the bench for this encounter but it only took 30 minutes for him to be introduced at the expense of Phatu Ganyane and, as expected, the 2023 Rugby World Cup winner made his presence felt in the scrums.
It was a similar story for Vincent Tshituka, who replaced his brother Manu midway through the opening half, but put in a big shift either side of the ball and did brilliantly in the lineouts where he proved disruptive on the Stormers’ throw-ins.
Meanwhile, Springboks skipper Siya Kolisi and fellow international Grant Williams also brought plenty of energy to the visitors’ cause during the second half and their experience proved crucial in helping the Sharks to close out the game.
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