‘Great to win at special home ground,’ says Sacha after Stormers edge Sharks

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu put in an all action performance to help the Stormers beat the Sharks in their URC coastal derby. Springbok star Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu looked close to his best as put in a man-of-the-match performance and helped guide the Stormers to a 39-22 win over the Sharks in their United Rugby Championship (URC) coastal derby at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday. Feinberg-Mngomezulu has struggled to find his best form since returning from a high ankle syndesmosis injury suffered playing for the Stormers in their URC quarterfinal win over Cardiff last season. He returned to action for the Boks against Argentina in August and went onto play a further five straight games for the national team, including starting all four of their Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry matches against the All Blacks, while he came off the bench against Australia Down Under last month. Although he didn’t play badly, most of his performances were mixed, with him showing flashes of his brilliance, while also making a number of uncharacteristic errors. In his first game for the Stormers this season, a huge coastal derby against the Sharks, Feinberg-Mngomezulu looked in the best touch he has been since his return, pulling the strings from flyhalf, and deservedly picked up the man-of-the-match award, ahead of his teammate Hacjivah Dayimani, who also had a superb game. In an on-field interview after the match Feinberg-Mngomezulu was asked about his team’s performance and about the recent criticism he has come in for. That was good “That was good. They gave us a tough time last season (when the Sharks won both URC coastal derbies). We had 45,000 odd (fans) here. So it’s a special home ground that we have got here and I am very happy that we got the result,” said Feinberg-Mngomezulu. “I just play for my team. There is endless motivation (to do that). People outside of our circles, the Springboks and Stormers, will always have an opinion and we enjoy that. But it’s just about staying low for me.” The star flyhalf went on to praise the cracking atmosphere made by a close to capacity crowd at the Cape Town Stadium. “It’s special to be back in Cape Town (with the Stormers). They (the fans) stay loud throughout the game. We last played here before the (URC) semis (last season), and I forgot a bit what it is like (playing in front of a full house), because it was a while ago. So it was great.” A strong win over their big coastal rivals was the perfect response for the Stormers after their loss to Edinburgh in Scotland last weekend, and sets them up well for their opening Champions Cup clash of the season against Bristol Bears at home next weekend.