Libbok Can Kick Boks into Higher Gear

As the excitement builds ahead of the Springboks’ End-of-Year Tour opener against Scotland in Edinburgh on Sunday, November 10, so too will the enthusiasm and discussion around selections for the Murrayfield clash.

There will be various considerations and perhaps challenging selection decisions for the Boks as they prepare to take on the Scots, who will no doubt have added a level or two to their confidence reserves after their morale-boosting 57-17 thumping of Fiji on the weekend.

The Springboks arrived in the Scottish capital one week out from their first of three Tests in the northern hemisphere, and it will be exciting to see which way Rassie Erasmus and Co will go for this outing after springing a good few surprises in terms of their line-up this season.

Will we see the ‘first-choice’ side, bursting with international experience and accolades to boot, run out and start the Outgoing Tour in show stopping fashion, will it be a mix, or will there be cameos offered to newer players to audition for a Bok role? And then, of course, there’s this one – who will be in the driving seat at flyhalf? The is-Manie-Libbok-up-to-it debate naturally reboots (not that it ever really hit pause) this week. Yes, the weather conditions and the general match check-list could be considerations in terms of who gets the nod this weekend. But apart from that, we know that the foundation for that discussion is much larger than how wet or dry the turf is and who the selected flyhalf will have around him.

Lots has been said about Libbok being ‘responsible’ for South Africa’s winning streak-snapping 29-28 Rugby Championship defeat to Argentina and the fact that they lost the top spot on World Rugby’s rankings after that loss. His slip-up with that late penalty kick just couldn’t be forgotten. It still features whenever the anti-Libbok brigade reach for something to strengthen their arguments against him. Erasmus backed him for the reverse fixture in Nelspruit and handed the goal-kicking duties to Jaden Hendrikse. Libbok flourished, and two things became clear. One – while some choose to focus and fixate on the dip in form Libbok has been experiencing off the kicking tee, they also choose to (quite ridiculously) simply ignore the greatness of the attacking range he possesses, and two – when a player is backed, opportunity arises for him to thrive. And that he sure did in his first start since the Portugal game in July.

I don’t need to bore readers with paragraphs on his next-level distribution, kick- passes that rival laser-beam precision, and his overall playmaking wizardry, it’s clear to see. And then there’s his knack for not allowing an error – like a botched kick – to influence the rest of his game and his overall play. And for a player constantly subjected to criticism, that says something.

I can only imagine how damaging that level of reproval could be to a player’s psyche, especially considering that Libbok didn’t have every other week to go out there and make up for any shortcomings this season. He didn’t have the luxury of saying “you know what, I’ll fix it next week”. With the now-injured Sacha Feinberg-Mgngomezulu dazzling in his debut international season and Handre Pollard the other starter, Libbok’s opportunities were limited.

But he doesn’t need a portfolio season to show the rugby world how good he is. Neither does he need to perfect his goal-kicking or be haunted by ‘kick at 80 percent’-themed nightmares.

Besides the fact that he has proven that his goal-kicking woes aren’t some ingrained deficiency – you just have to think back to his top-pressure moments involving the tee and the uprights with the Stormers in the United Rugby Championship to know that – why is kicking for goal and a flyhalf’s success off the tee such a massive focus? Yes, it certainly is crucial at times, but nowhere in the law book does it state that only a flyhalf can line up for that responsibility. If the Boks’ focus was the conservatism of days gone by, a kicking metronome would have made sense and this spewing in Libbok’s direction would perhaps have made the slightest bit of sense.

But the Boks have evolved, their style has changed, and there is no better flyhalf than Manie Libbok to kick that expansion into high gear. There shouldn’t even be a debate.

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