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Everyone is saying the same thing after latest Manie Libbok blunder
By Ian Cameron
Manie Libbok’s kicking woes were again in the spotlight after the Springboks’ narrow defeat to Argentina in the Castle Lager Rugby Championship in Santiago del Estero on Saturday night.
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With the match on the line, Libbok’s last-minute penalty attempt went wide, costing South Africa a crucial win. This isn’t the first time his kicking has faltered under pressure at the international level.
While he has performed well for the Stormers in the United Rugby Championship, the intensity of Test rugby seems to affect him. Fans on social media have now widely expressed the same view: Libbok is not a Test-level kicker.
South African rugby journalist Brendan Nel wrote on X: “You can point to the dodgy lineout, the poor tackling, game management and how good Argentina were. That is all true. But a 10s job is to kick those penalties. And that wasn’t a difficult one. Boks could have won playing poorly. But Manie should have kicked that. That doesn’t mean he should be thrown away. Boks could have lost vs ABs in both games. Their attack and game management needs work. And they didn’t look settled. They will win the Rugby Champs but this was an opportunity lost.”
Welsh rugby writer Paul Williams wrote: “I love Manie Libbok for the Stormers. But there’s only so many times that you can miss those, sadly.”
Thomas Mlambo, a South African TV news anchor with Super Sport posted on X: “Manie Libbok, for all the good work he did, messed up the bread and butter bit he is actually meant to do… That’s why he won’t see major game time when it counts. points win matches and his placekicking just doesn’t cut it.”
One fan wrote: “Manie Libbok is not a kicker. How many years do I have to keep tweeting. And I don’t care what Rassie and Siya say. Boks lose when he has to kick winners, and they certainly do not beat France, England or New Zealand at the 2023 Rugby World Cup if he plays. End of story.”
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Another fan wrote: “It’s heartbreaking to see what has happened to Manie Libbok, couldn’t be nicer guy, a fighter, a magician with ball in hand and open play BUT this question has been asked and answered enough times. Sometimes, even when it’s sad, if reality keeps serving up the same answer, you have to change! We can only play Libbok when SFM [Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu] can play at 15 or anywhere really.”
Another observed: “Manie Libbok is at 42 per cent this season from the kicking tee… The strange thing about Manie Libbok’s goalkicking is that a lot of his missed kicks for the Boks are easier short distance kicks from not too wide out either.
I’ve seen him make harder kicks directly on the touchline in Stormers blue. Once he puts that green jersey on idk man.”
Another rugby fan remarked: ‘Manie Libbok I love you but you simply cannot be allowed on goal-kicking duties any more.”
In the post-match press conference Rassie Erasmus refused to place the blame on Libbok: “If we didn’t miss the penalty kick in the end, there would have been smiles all around. But if you look at the game, there were a few things that didn’t go our way.
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“Our lineout didn’t function as well as we would have liked, but there were also a lot of other things we could have done better that would have ensured that the match didn’t come down to that kick, so we have a lot to work on next week.”
Watch the highly acclaimed five-part documentary Chasing the Sun 2, chronicling the journey of the Springboks as they strive to successfully defend the Rugby World Cup, free on RugbyPass TV (*unavailable in Africa)
Tired of this shit. "Blunder." Seriously? The blunder is using Blunder in your headline! He doesn't deserve your oh-so-carefully-crafted sympathy. Playing Manie is a risk. Playing someone who plays on his instincts, who reacts instinctively to a fluid situation, someone who may not always do the smart thing in hindsight..is a risk. The abuse heaped upon his head is ill-deserved. He knows he made a mistake. What he didn't do is blunder, Your headline...now THAT is a blunder.
Who the heck decided #10 must be the kicker?? ? Let Manie focus on his attacking talents & LET SOMEBODY ELS KICK FOR POLES !!!!
If Kolbe can play hooker...let him be kicker. He is a good kicker just like faf or one of the full backs. Jordi Barret is a center & often kicks for the ABs
Big decisions for the boks. Stick or twist.
Pollard is the best place kicker in the sport but offers nothing beyond that. At all.
Libbok consistently misses kicks well within his range that he should be nailing - but looks seriously good in open play.
Most competitive games are still won or lost down the last 10 mins stretch. Maybe Rassie is a genius if he figures this one out.
Sacha did his knee so he is out. Eish
Manie Libbok cant be the Springbok kicker. If he is going to be out there Mgomezulu or Pollard may need to be out there with him. That is unfortunately the limitation the coaches face with him
Didnt Pollock miss just as many kicks as Libbok? Didnt the Arg kickers miss MORE than the SA kickers? Did Libbok let in 19 points whilst the Boks were down to 14? This "Blaming" is horrible.
There has been a lot of heat on Libbok for his missed penalty, but what has not been mentioned is that Argentina actually left at least 8 points out there from missed kicks so if all the missed kicks were counted they would still have won. The game wasn't lost in the last 2 minutes ...it was an exciting 80 plus minute game and a great game to watch for a neutral.
This same thing can be said for RWC 23 final. But that's test rugby. You have to grab your chances and make the best of what's there. Fact is Boks had a chance despite playing like shit and Libbok threw it. He's gotta go.
Manie has proven that when it matters most he lacks BMT. To add to the missed kick he also kicked a primary attacking penalty kick dead.
Another case in point, RWC 23 against Ireland, his misses were painful to watch and cost us the game.
If he is played again, team needs a backup kicker.
Have some consideration for the man. His confidence must be at rock bottom.
The 3 pointer miss was probably not much worse than the overcooked penalty corner kick.
Nonetheless a fine player.
Just not a test level 10
After SA's great 0-17 start (aided by some unforced errors by Argentina) they then conceded the next 26 points. (Pollard was steering the ship during that period.)
Also note the penalized Argentina was being pinned offside by Hendrikse.
That said Libbok has to score those. I feel sorry for him as the chatter about his kicking has compounded over the years and he can't seem to keep it out of his head for these big kicks. Honestly some of the greatest soccer strikers have sufferred in a similar way but unfortunetly in Rugby Union terms there is only one penalty 'striker' and if he is missing he has to go.
As Steve Hansen once said: 'If you can't change the man, change the man.'
Yep - starting with not getting a yellow card that cost 19 points.
Precisely this. Amongst other things, still… 3 points in front of the sticks is one of those things that could have been done better. Sum of the whole - nothing in isolation as such.
Elite sports is a cruel place to operate, he won’t be the last to feel the heat. Suck it up and move on, you’ve a World Cup winners medal and a URC title. Fair enough.