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'He gets the Springboks going': All Blacks should 'expect fast play, coast to coast' from Libbok
By Ned Lester
Everyone knows what to expect when you play the Springboks; a massive pack with undeniable physicality and as strong of a set piece as you’ll find in the rugby world.
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Well, that covers the forwards at least. In the backs, head coach Jacques Nienabar has been mixing up his selections week in, week out, throwing different looks at different opposition and employing the full reaches of the player depth at his disposal.
With three first fives vying for the No 10 jersey, question marks have circled the position and continue to despite Handre Pollard’s exclusion from the Rugby World Cup squad.
We’re yet to discover whether it will be Manie Libbok or Damian Willemse to lead the South African’s World Cup campaign, or if Pollard is yet to make a curious return.
It is the former, Libbok, who has been named as pivot for the team’s final World Cup warm-up match against the All Blacks – just don’t tell the teams it’s a warm-up.
The 26-year-old is in the infancy of his international rugby journey but does not play like it, and he’ll bring a different element to a matchup that the New Zealand team came out trumps in last time around.
“He’s an exciting kind of flyhalf,” Philasande Sixaba told The Platform. “He brings something very much different to a Handre Pollard. He’s very much a ball-in-hand kind of first five.
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“I think a lot of the things the South African public moan about is his inconsistency from the kicking tee, and I think that’s something he’ll improve on as he gets more minutes in test match rugby, I think he’s about eight test matches in now.
“He’s really just stood up in terms of his attacking play, he’s got a really good defensive play as well.
“For me, he’s one of those guys where you look at and from a point where he gets the Springboks going, particularly when they have a strong pack like they have against New Zealand this Friday. So, you can expect some fast play, coast to coast from a guy like Manie Libbok.
“He’s got a really good, thinking brain inside him. He knows when to attack, he knows when to kick and vary his play so very much an exciting prospect.”
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Among the options that have been floated at 10 are Cheslin Kolbe and Willie le Roux, two players who often occupy the outside back positions for their country but have shown their chops at 10 for their clubs.
With various injury concerns across the field, the Springbok coaches have their hands full planning for different situations but Sixaba thinks the playmaker role is of top concern.
“At flyhalf, that is probably one of the positions where Jacques Nienabar scratches his head a little bit more than the others.
“It’s kind of difficult to replace those frontline players like Pollard… the X-factor of a Manie Libbok still gets us through test matches.”
Ambitious prediction here. Coast to coast requires fitness. Something the South African forward pack's reserves don't have. Keep it tight and don't run out of gas. That's how SA need to play. They may try to throw other nations off the scent by throwing it around but they'll lose and no one will fall for it so why bother?
so good to see Nienaber backing him despite inconsistent place kicking - and if he creates or scores more 5s it doesn't matter