He sometimes isn’t appreciated by his own team’s supporters but it would be understandable if when the Italian players learned that Manie Libbok was replacing Handre Pollard as the Springbok flyhalf for Saturday’s second test they felt shivers of apprehension run down their spines.
The Boks have three excellent pivots. Pollard would probably be the first choice if South Africa were playing a World Cup final on Saturday, mainly because of a perception he is the most reliable place-kicker and he is more complete than the other players at this point when it comes to game management.
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu would be most people’s pick for the role when the actual next RWC does arrive in 2027.
But Feinberg-Mngomezulu has some growing to do before then, and as we saw at some stages of the DHL Stormers’ finish to the URC season and at some points of the Boks’ first game of the season against the Barbarians, he can be too individualistic.
Pollard is very much Steady Eddie at this point of his career, but is not quite the man to crack open an opposing defence like Libbok did in last year’s Castle Lager Rugby Championship decider against Argentina in Nelspruit.
Which is why Italy should be nervous and why Libbok could be the most perfect fit for Saturday’s game at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
Like Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Libbok can overplay, but his excellent passing game brings a connectedness and potent edge to the team’s attack that none of the others do.
Not only Libbok, but the players selected around him, such as Grant Williams on his inside and Andre Esterhuizen and Canan Moodie on his outside, suggest this the game is one where the Boks will be aiming to implement the attacking, expansive game built around Libbok’s distributive skills that buried the Pumas nine months ago.
NO WORRIES ABOUT INACTIVITY
Libbok hasn’t played much this year. He was injured playing for the Stormers in January and was out until May, when he returned for one game against Cardiff before playing off the bench in the URC quarterfinal in Glasgow.
He played off the bench in the Barbarians game two weeks ago.
That’s not a lot of rugby but Libbok is unfazed, and says the rotation policy among the flyhalves at the Boks is not a disruptor to continuity because of the intensity put into their training sessions.
“It’s not difficult to remain ready to play because some of our training sessions are conducted at an intensity level that is higher than most games,” said the Bok flyhalf.
“The way we train is above game intensity, so we get proper prep throughout the week. If you are not playing in the game at the weekend you go through the same as the guys who are playing. So everyone when they are called upon is well prepared and ready to go.”
The now former Stormers pivot - he will be playing in Japan next season - certainly didn’t appear to lack any match sharpness when he came on against the Barbarians.
Everything worked in his time on the field, even though the match was played in the wet conditions not considered ideal for him.
And that included his place-kicking, with the Libbok nailing several conversions from the touchline.
HAS WORKED ON HIS KICKING
“It is an area of my game that I have worked hard on over the past few months, during the URC as well,” he says.
“I am feeling good about it and am glad it feels like I have got it right. I have put a lot of focus in and have been working on it and been making continuous progress. It’s an important part of my game so it does need to be an area I am strong in.”
He was on target with all his kicks in another big Bok performance apart from the aforementioned rout of the Pumas - the big win over the All Blacks in the warmup game to the 2023 RWC at Twickenham.
He’s looking forward to playing alongside players he teamed up with that day such as Canan Moodie, who was outstanding in that 35-7 win, but one thing that differed in the Nelspruit game in comparison with that one was that at Mbombela Stadium he was released from the place kicking responsibilities.
Instead it was scrumhalf Jaden Hendrikse who kicked for the posts.
“That wasn’t something that bothered me at the time as it was a time I was going through a form slump with my kicking,” he said.
“I needed at that time to focus on other aspects of my game, my running and field kicking attacking skills and it was felt I couldn’t be weighed down by also having to struggle with my place-kicking, which I was struggling with. But I am not struggling now, I feel I am in form when it comes to my kicking.”
He will form a potentially exciting partnership with Grant Williams at halfback against Italy, one he is looking forward to.
“I am very excited about playing with Grant. It will be our third test match together, but the first one was that game against Argentina where he was concussed and went off really early. The other was against England. I look forward to playing with him and I also look forward to playing with the guys I was together with in that win over the All Blacks in 2023. We gelled really nicely that night. Having a guy like Andre (Esterhuizen) alongside me means I can tap his experience, and Canan (Moodie) too.”
Having three gifted flyhalves in the same squad would be a problem to some ambitious players, but it doesn’t appear to be the case with Libbok.
“I don’t see it as a battle, I see it as healthy competition. It helps all of us that we push each other in training and it gets the best out of us and grows us as players. It is nice to work with them and obviously we all learn from each other. I learn from Handre about how he goes about playing as a No10 and Sacha too. There are elements of their game I try to put into my game.”