"Generational Player" - Stormers coach Dobson rallies Springboks star Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu

The 24-year-old fly-half continues to emerge as one of world rugby’s most exciting talents and is now the joint-leading points scorer in the URC, with 147 points this season, level with the Lions’ Chris Smith.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s latest masterclass came in the Stormers’ dramatic 38-38 draw away to Ulster, where he crossed for two tries and contributed 21 points in Belfast. He also beat 11 defenders during the match — more than any other player across the league over the weekend.

His numbers this season underline just how influential he has become for the Cape Town side. Alongside his points tally, Feinberg-Mngomezulu sits among the league leaders for tries scored (9), clean breaks (19), metres gained (705), defenders beaten (48), try assists (5) and goal-kicking points (102).

For Dobson, though, it is the evolution of the young Springbok’s maturity and control that has impressed him most. “I think he is a generational player. We are going to enjoy him for a while to come,” he said.

“He has grown up very quickly from being the X-Factor, playing off the cuff guy, to taking the responsibility of driving the team. When he first came along, it was almost like a party impact, to do something crazy. Now he has got to drive the team forward before his own stuff and he has definitely matured. He is the most vocal guy on the field.

“You think it’s all this natural ability, but his work ethic and his detail is magnificent. He spends a lot of time previewing the opposition, looking at what their triggers are. I absolutely don’t coach him. All I have got to do with him is make sure the rest of the team understands how he is going to play because he is such an individualist.”

Dobson also admitted the Stormers may have placed too much responsibility on Feinberg-Mngomezulu earlier in the campaign when he was handed the captaincy.

“We possibly made a mistake earlier in the year when we put Sacha as the captain because it put a lot of responsibility on him. He was the game driver, the X-Factor, the captain, he has got to worry about the referee and off the field stuff. His diary was full. Not being captain has freed him up.”

The Stormers have already secured a home quarter-final in the URC play-offs and head into the final round of the regular season sitting just one point behind leaders Glasgow Warriors.

Victory over Cardiff Rugby at the Arms Park on Friday night could yet secure a top-two finish and potentially keep the road to the Grand Final running through Cape Town.

Dobson made it clear his side are treating the trip to Wales as a huge occasion.

“We sort of dreamt when we were sailing unbeaten that we could come on this tour not having to win games,” said Dobson. “But we didn’t achieve that. We lost some local derbies and we lost to Connacht.

“So we are selecting a team with the aim of winning this match. It’s a big game for us because it can give us a path to more home play-offs or certainly the semi-final. You see from this competition that home advantage is so important. The last two years we have gone to away quarter-finals and that wasn’t good for us. We lost both of them in Scotstoun.”

Dobson also paid tribute to Cardiff’s impressive campaign under difficult circumstances.

“They have been a surprise. I kept expecting them to fall away given their squad, but they have been top eight throughout and got some really good results. They have been competitive in every game they have played. Cardiff are a problem. We have never won at the Arms Park, so it’s a problematic game for us.

“It’s just a tough place to play. It feels like everything is on top of you and there is no room. The Arms Park is classic.”

The Stormers boss highlighted the threat posed by Cardiff fly-half Callum Sheedy and the Welsh side’s aerial game.

Having won the URC title back in 2022, the Stormers are once again among the favourites heading into the play-offs, although Dobson believes the competition has become significantly stronger over the past few seasons.

“This is our best squad yet. We are much better than we were in terms of depth. We are pretty content that we have been top or second pretty much the whole year. But if we were to lose a home quarter, then we are going to say it’s a disappointing season.

“If we don’t get to a semi-final, then we are not going to be content. It’s much more competitive. It’s a very hard league to win. It’s definitely harder now than when we won it. It’s a proper league in terms of the investment in squads and coaching. There are no easy games now. The league has definitely got better.”