MARK KEOHANE | Libbok gets a raw deal in SA, there should be more appreciation of his skills

Manie Libbok can kick penalties and conversions and he plays the game of rugby particularly well. He has nothing to prove against England at Ellis Park in the Nations Championship opening round.

Libbok starts at No 10, ahead of double World Cup winner Handre Pollard, who was available for selection. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who started most of last season’s Test matches at No 10, is injured.

Libbok, Pollard and Feinberg-Mngomezulu are the top three No 10s in the Springboks squad. South Africa under-20 flyhalf Vusi Moyo adds depth to the senior squad.

Libbok is no stranger to the noise and critique regarding his goal-kicking on match days when things haven’t gone to the approval of rugby supporters or the media.

Those days are rare, but they seem to be the ones remembered in a brutal and unfair sporting world.

The missed kicks against Ireland at the 2023 World Cup Pool match is often used as a whip against Libbok, but the purple prose doesn’t match the vitriol when Libbok is influential in everything good or strong in a Springbok performance

Libbok gets it right more often than he gets it wrong. He has played 29 Tests for the Springboks and started in 15 of them. He has been on the winning team in 24 of the 29 matches.

He has kicked 13 penalties and 52 conversions for the Boks, in addition to scoring two tries. He has played against every major Test team home and away. He has won in France against France, in England against England and in Argentina against Argentina. He has won in Scotland against Scotland, in Ireland against Ireland, and in Wales against Wales. He has won in Italy against Italy, in Australia against Australia and in New Zealand against the All Blacks.

Libbok, 28 years-old and a World Cup winner, does not have to prove anything to anyone against England. He has done it all before and will continue to do so.

Libbok was at flyhalf when the Boks destroyed the All Blacks at Twickenham 35-7 in the build-up to the 2023 World Cup. He was at flyhalf for the last hour when the Boks inflicted the biggest defeat on the All Blacks in the 43-10 win in Wellington, New Zealand.

He has had some awesome matches in the Boks jersey.

Libbok, 28 years old and a World Cup winner, does not have to prove anything to anyone against England. He has done it all before and will continue to do so.

He must be allowed to play and to be the best version of himself as a rugby player.

Libbok spent the past season playing in Japan’s second division for Kintetsu Liners. He started all 14 of his matches, scored seven tries and kicked four penalties and 59 conversions for 175 points, averaging 12.5 points.

He worked with former Wallabies halfbacks Quade Cooper and Will Genia. The duo finished their careers as the halfback pairing with Kintetsu Liners and have taken up coaching roles.

Both have spoken publicly about Libbok’s qualities as a player, his obvious talents and his ability to be a match winner. Genia said Libbok’s biggest advance in the past season would be having a greater appreciation of his own game — when to show, go, or take it slow.

Game management is something Libbok has consciously worked on since playing outside of South Africa.

Libbok gets a raw deal in South Africa. He can play and there must be more appreciation of his skills. There certainly is among the Bok coaches, particularly Rassie Erasmus and backs coach Tony Brown.

South Africa is fortunate to have No 10s of such pedigree, individually and as a collective.

The Boks have beaten England in their last three matchups, but the 16-15 escape to win the 2023 World Cup semi-final is a reminder that England has the quality of players and style of game to upset and trouble the Boks.

Home ground advantage should be decisive for a settled and experienced group of Springboks on Saturday, but even these World Cup winners have stumbled on occasion.

Last season the Boks conceded 38 unanswered points to Australia at Ellis Park in a shock defeat. Of the 23 players in the matchday squad, 15 are in action against England.

They will be reminded of the lack of game management in that match.

The Nations Championship means there are league points for every match and the winners of the six northern hemisphere teams and the six southern hemisphere teams will play the final in the last week of November in England.

Every team wants a winning start to the competition, but the Boks coaches will also balance the bigger season’s picture of four successive Tests against the All Blacks in New Zealand’s first tour of South Africa in 30 years.

For now, England is the main attraction, as the two teams were in the final of the 2019 World Cup in Japan.

South Africa delivered a mighty performance in winning 32-12, and seven years later many of the same players will deliver another winning performance.