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'It's not happening in a 2027 World Cup playoff match'

Manie Libbok of South Africa reacts during the the Rugby Championship 2024 match between Argentina Pumas and South Africa Springboks at Estadio Unico Madre de Ciudades on September 21, 2024 in Santiago del Estero, Argentina. (Photo by Rodrigo Valle/Getty Images)

Schalk Burger is taking positives from South Africa’s narrow 29-28 defeat to Argentina in round five of the Rugby Championship on Saturday, saying it is part of the team’s “evolution”.

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After missing a rudimentary penalty in the final seconds of the match, which would very likely have given the Springboks the victory and the Championship, flyhalf Manie Libbok’s goal kicking has certainly been in the spotlight.

The Stormers No10’s kicking is something that has always come under scrutiny, and the former flanker believes the events in Santiago del Estero will “follow” him.

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Burger’s former teammate Jean de Villiers is in agreement, and now feels it is now a “risk” to play the 27-year-old without another kicker in the team.

Speaking on this week’s episode of RugbyPass TV’s Boks Office, the pair dissected the loss, and the ramifications for both the Springboks and Libbok.

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“Unfortunately with Manie – and he was so good when he came on, his tactical kicking was accurate – for a reasonably young flyhalf, that follows you that pressure kick, because it’s going to come again,” the former World Rugby player of the year said.

“And we can go through the game and say ‘that’s not the turning point’, but at the end of the day, last year at the World Cup, that’s what won us the World Cup, Handre Pollard’s kick against England. Then you go to the final and you realise [Jordie] Barrett and [Richie] Mo’unga missed three attempts between the two of them, that’s the World Cup there.

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“That’s, unfortunately, the difference, the margins are so fine.”

“The reality now with Manie is you need to differentiate between Manie as a flyhalf and Manie as a kicker,” de Villiers said.

“Fantastic flyhalf- fantastic attacking player, defensively he makes his tackles, he can do a proper job for you. Unfortunately there is a risk by selecting him at flyhalf with the goal kicking if you don’t have someone backing you up as a goal kicker. As a flyhalf, that is a tough thing, but is he a bad player? Certainly not.”

The positive for Burger is that this has come three years before Rassie Erasmus’ side are set to defend their World Cup in Australia. This provides the players, not just Libbok, to improve their skill set.

Boks Office host Hanyani Shimange even highlighted the kicking struggles South Africa’s highest point scorer Percy Montgomery endured during his playing that he was able to iron out.

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Fortunately for Libbok, he has been backed by Erasmus to go out and prove the doubters wrong this weekend in Mbombela in round six of the Championship, where the Boks can bring the title home. Libbok will start in the No10 jersey and, judging by the rest of the backline, will be the designated goal kicker.

“It’s part of this Bok team’s evolution,” Burger said. “You’ve got to expose players, you’re going to lose Test matches to be able to know. It’s not happening in a 2027 World Cup playoff match. The players have got to make those mistakes before that.

“Luckily now it happened before three years before the next World Cup so you have a chance to improve your skill set.

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“If you’re Manie Libbok, prove them wrong, say ‘listen, let’s go back to the drawing board, let’s remodel our mental approach, remodel some technical issues that I might have in my kicking game’ because clearly there is a bit of both. He’s a great attacking player and Rassie backs him for it and you have an opportunity to learn from that mistake.”

Shimange added: “Monty went through it. He changed his kicking and came back at the top. It’s a very fixable thing. I just think the abuse is unfair.”

De Villiers also agreed that the reaction by fans and the abuse directed towards the flyhalf online has been “too much”

“This is where we really need to say,” he said. “We take rugby extremely seriously and Springbok rugby is so close to our hearts but at the end of the day it’s just a game. We can’t now get personal and start attacking his character.

“That just gets too much. No one regrets it and hates it more than Manie that he missed that kick.”

Related

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)

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Comments

79 Comments
T
Teddy 83 days ago

SteveD - "I love winding them up!"


SteveD - "Some on here can dish it out but they can't hack it.."


(6 hours later) SteveD -"stop insulting me. Leave me alone. Go away!"


Hahahaha. Stick to cutting the grass, pensioner.

D
DA 85 days ago

jou poes voechek is more like it

D
DA 85 days ago

the way that you carry on it's like someone that has roids going right through his putrid veins KANT

D
DA 85 days ago

you are a fu;king whinging pop. Your nation helped set up apartheid which you probably have no idea about. Your nation interned more that 20000 women and children in apartheid internment camps of which approximately the same amount died. Your nation is the shocker and should not be throwing any stones at glass houses should you!!!!!! KANT

Edit

Delete

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WW 85 days ago

You complain about how your Irish heritage has been attacked, yet you do the very same thing, I'm sensing some bi-polar schizophrenia at play here, so many pseudonyms but so easy to spot the same racist idiot. Here's some Dutch for you: voestsek!!

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Teddy 86 days ago

I've never struggled with that, funnily. I never doped though. Was always a clean player. Has to be a connection.

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WW 86 days ago

At your age one would think getting an erection would be anything but grim, should be anticipated as much as winning a RWC

T
Teddy 87 days ago

I strongly suspect you miss apartheid, Steve. Such anger.


Have thumbs a up. I'm having one.

T
Teddy 87 days ago

Hopefully it feels better than beating the boks. That's so routine now.


As grimly inevitable as an erection at a Taylor Swift concert.


Used to be enthralling...

T
Teddy 87 days ago

Very kind of you to prove my point.


Stay salty, seasick Steve.

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WW 87 days ago

It's a game, geez. Losing is part of winning, getting euphoric winning the RWC is normal.

But......maybe one day you'll understand.

S
SteveD 87 days ago

At least my 'mispell' was how you bogtrotters say it.


And no, you didn't hit a raw nerve, you hit the Effoff button, and when you start insulting my grandson you go way over the top and so you can go and stew in your own Oirish stew, china. So please eff off and find someone else to insult. I've had enough of your bulldust. So you won, just like the RWC. Oh right, you didn't. Not even once!!

T
Teddy 87 days ago

Doesn't hurt when your team loses and you only raise an eyebrow when they lift silverware?


Most parts of the world call that 'glory hunting.'

S
SteveD 87 days ago

Nope, you're the one who's so thick you actually forgot to thumbs up yourself! Ag shame, man keep trying, but also stop trying to be so trying.

T
Teddy 87 days ago

That's a smart move. I didn't realise that you get a direct bump yourself from the gate entry?


I also hadn't realised that the economy was soaring over there.


Indulge in improving your Dutch, perhaps?

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WW 87 days ago

Didn't bother me much, had to lose one, glad it was to a good team, hopefully we meet in 2027, so I can say this again when we lift the cup again.

T
Teddy 87 days ago

Hit a raw nerve did I? Sorry about that.


He got dropped from the starting 15 then?


You misspelled Irish. Sorry to be barking on like.

S
SteveD 87 days ago

Unfortunately the tickets have been selling out within ten minutes for every test so I don't bother. And anyway I'd rather the visitors came in their thousands to SA and spend their euros so I can stay here in indulgent luxury thanks to their generosity rather than take their seats.

T
Teddy 87 days ago

Spot the Bok! They win even when they get it wrong and lose!!!


Any wonder you need steroids and 10 man rugby to have a chance.


I'm guessing you're one of the guys who's literally too thick to even insult.


Ádh mór ort!

S
SteveD 87 days ago

Nah, he's not an Oirish leprechaun that needs boosting. But he does love potatoes...

T
Teddy 87 days ago

How'd you like them spuds when they did you in the world cup?


Choked or bate into the dirt. You choose?

S
SteveD 87 days ago

Nope, you're wrong. Finish and klaar, so unless you can provide proper references to prove it, I win.

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WW 87 days ago

Unlike the Irish, I won't choke on Tayto Crisps

T
Teddy 87 days ago

Proper Bok fan. Doesn't even bother attending the matches.


It's not just a myth then.


No actually, it's not hard to give yourself a thumbs up.


See below...

T
Teddy 87 days ago

Has he started cycling steroids yet or is he a late developer?

T
Teddy 87 days ago

Yet, you weren't quoting anyone. You used an idiom which is a phrase.


You originally used "?

It's actually ?"


Get it right, Steve.

T
Teddy 87 days ago

Don't worry, you won't have to wait too long.

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SteveD 87 days ago

I do, sunshine - my grandson's. He goes to the top rugby school in SA.

T
Teddy 87 days ago

Go to a match, Steve. It will change your life.

S
Strydie 87 days ago

Rassie knows what he's doing. Let's give Manie a chance and trust the process.

S
SteveD 87 days ago

'De Villiers also agreed that the reaction by fans and the abuse directed towards the flyhalf online has been “too much”'


And very embarrassing. But maybe they'll learn a bit more from this and STFU in future. Nah, they'll carry on being dom.

D
DS 87 days ago

Nothing new. People who never had the skills to catch or kick, let alone kick goals, all hurl abuse at the 10 these days. Playing 10 in rugby is one of the most difficult in sport. Even players who lumber from ruck to ruck and do little else think they can do better.

L
LB 88 days ago

I've always wondered what was the plan in 2023 when Pollard was left out of the squad. Was the plan always to sacrifice Mapimpi or someone else so he could come in a kick the goals in the knockouts since the Boks probably would have been knocked out at the semis if Pollard hadn't turned up

S
SteveD 87 days ago

Pollard was left out because he was injured.

T
Teddy 88 days ago

Schalk knows what it takes to win.


Namely, ramming your fingers into your opponents eye socket.


Classy.

D
DA 85 days ago

it was only another british player so who cares

S
SteveD 87 days ago

You really know so much about test rugby. Schalk was just unfortunate to be found out, not that I condone it. And so have you - another Bok hater?

N
Ninjin 88 days ago

Went to school with the guy. My mum grew up with his father and uncle. He is really a nice guy.

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JW 5 hours ago
Does South Africa have a future in European competition?

I rated Lowe well enough to be an AB. Remember we were picking the likes of George Bridge above such players so theres no disputing a lot of bad decisions have been made by those last two coaches. Does a team like the ABs need a finicky winger who you have to adapt and change a lot of your style with to get benefit from? No, not really. But he still would have been a basic improvement on players like even Savea at the tail of his career, Bridge, and could even have converted into the answer of replacing Beauden at the back. Instead we persisted with NMS, Naholo, Havili, Reece, all players we would have cared even less about losing and all because Rieko had Lowe's number 11 jersey nailed down.


He was of course only 23 when he decided to leave, it was back in the beggining of the period they had started retaining players (from 2018 onwards I think, they came out saying theyre going to be more aggressive at some point). So he might, all of them, only just missed out.


The main point that Ed made is that situations like Lowe's, Aki's, JGP's, aren't going to happen in future. That's a bit of a "NZ" only problem, because those players need to reach such a high standard to be chosen by the All Blacks, were as a country like Ireland wants them a lot earlier like that. This is basically the 'ready in 3 years' concept Ireland relied on, versus the '5 years and they've left' concept' were that player is now ready to be chosen by the All Blacks (given a contract to play Super, ala SBW, and hopefully Manu).


The 'mercenary' thing that will take longer to expire, and which I was referring to, is the grandparents rule. The new kids coming through now aren't going to have as many gp born overseas, so the amount of players that can leave with a prospect of International rugby offer are going to drop dramatically at some point. All these kiwi fellas playing for a PI, is going to stop sadly.


The new era problem that will replace those old concerns is now French and Japanese clubs (doing the same as NRL teams have done for decades by) picking kids out of school. The problem here is not so much a national identity one, than it is a farm system where 9 in 10 players are left with nothing. A stunted education and no support in a foreign country (well they'll get kicked out of those countries were they don't in Australia).


It's the same sort of situation were NZ would be the big guy, but there weren't many downsides with it. The only one I can think was brought up but a poster on this site, I can't recall who it was, but he seemed to know a lot of kids coming from the Islands weren't really given the capability to fly back home during school xms holidays etc. That is probably something that should be fixed by the union. Otherwise getting someone like Fakatava over here for his last year of school definitely results in NZ being able to pick the cherries off the top but it also allows that player to develop and be able to represent Tonga and under age and possibly even later in his career. Where as a kid being taken from NZ is arguably going to be worse off in every respect other than perhaps money. Not going to develop as a person, not going to develop as a player as much, so I have a lotof sympathy for NZs case that I don't include them in that group but I certainly see where you're coming from and it encourages other countries to think they can do the same while not realising they're making a much worse experience/situation.

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