AUDIO: The reason why Manie was elevated to starting berth
AUDIO: The Springboks are stocked pretty well in the flyhalf department, but coach Rassie Erasmus backed Manie Libbok as his starting pivot against Australia at Ellis Park on Saturday.
As in most other positions, the Boks have ample talent at No.10 in Libbok, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, and double World Cup-winner Handre Pollard.
There is also the versatile Damian Willemse, who is the utility back on the bench this weekend.
And while Libbok is starting against the Wallabies, it doesn’t tag him as the number one among the flyhalves.
But it does sound like the 28-year-old has been ticking all the right boxes, including with his kicking.
“Sacha and Handre will probably play in Cape Town, so we are just trying to spread the load a bit there.
“Not having a flyhalf on the bench, we know Damian can play flyhalf, so we feel we are well covered there,” Erasmus told reporters on Monday.
“We’ve found that in the past, the only time we swap a flyhalf is when he is having an off day or when he is missing goal kicks.
“Manie has been slotting them well. The new balls are making a difference; he is doing well.
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“We felt we needed to have a 13 cover, Damian [de Allende] usually covers there, so that’s why Canan [Moodie] is on the bench ahead of Handre and Sacha.
“We don’t have a 13 cover, but we do have an outright 10 cover in Damian,” the coach explained.
One player who could feel a bit hard done by is Lions scrumhalf Morne van den Berg, who would’ve relished the chance to play in front of his home crowd at Ellis Park.
Erasmus was asked about omitting the nuggety No. 9 for this Test match.
“It’s always nice to do that. We played Faf [de Klerk] in Nelspruit.
“But when we get up against better teams that are competitive – and we see Australia as a good team and they are building up to a nice World Cup in their home country – you sometimes have the luxury of playing guys at their home venue.
“Unfortunately, sometimes you can’t be too emotional. Krappie [Morne van den Berg] will have a chance next weekend in Cape Town, hopefully, if things go as planned.
“Sometimes, if you lose momentum, you have to change your plans,” Erasmus explained.
“I know Handre [Pollard] would’ve loved to play as well, it is not his home ground, but he knows this part of the world pretty well.
“Sometimes you have to decide according to what’s best for the team.
“And Krappie is probably one of the most humble and serving team members that we have in the team, he understands it.”
