‘He must become our 10 if Pollard is injured’: Boks’ RWC defence depends on this
As much depth as the Springboks have across their squad currently, they are going to face problems if they do not solve one crucial position. That is the No10 position.
With Handre Pollard looking like a consistent injury concern, Jacques Nienaber has spent the last couple of years trying to work out who the Leicester Tigers No10’s deputy is.
Stormers duo Manie Libbok and Damian Willemse have both been tried out this Rugby Championship so far, the former against Australia and the latter against the All Blacks, with varied results. Libbok came out of the match against the Wallabies with flying colours, while Willemse’s performance in New Zealand left plenty to be desired. To be fair to Willemse though, his Test was far tougher in Auckland against a rampant All Blacks side.
With time running out before the World Cup, former Springboks assistant coach Swys de Bruin has seen all he needs to see when it comes to the No10 debate, and is convinced that Libbok should be Pollard’s deputy heading into the World Cup. Speaking on SuperSport recently, de Bruin weighed in on the fly-half discussion when naming the XV he wants to see start against Argentina this Saturday at Ellis Park.
“Then Manie Libbok, the way he played, I want him to be established now as our No10,” de Bruin said. “He must become our 10 if Pollard is injured. The 10 must not jump around from a No15, a makeshift No10. Let him get confidence at Ellis Park, especially, the crowd will be behind him. They’ll love what they see there. They did it all the years with Elton [Jantjies], they’ll do the same with Manie. He’ll be the hero if there’s momentum.”
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The Springboks squad is likely to be named on Tuesday in keeping with Nienaber’s habit of naming his squad early.
