‘He’s playing well and I would love to see him’: Bok pundits on No10 debate
South Africa’s problems at fly-half only got worse on Saturday when Leicester Tigers’ Handre Pollard was taken off injured against Saracens at the StoneX Stadium.
The World Cup winner was making his debut for Leicester and first appearance since his Rugby Championship was cut short due to a knee injury, but only managed 27 minutes of play after coming on at half time. Springboks fans will be eagerly awaiting the updates on that injury with the team going through a mini crisis at the moment in the No10 shirt.
With Elton Jantjies out of the picture currently due to a private matter, Damian Willemse took on the Bok No10 shirt in the Rugby Championship, but he also was unavailable for the final match due to a concussion, meaning Frans Steyn had to play there.
Though Willemse will be back for the autumn, SuperSport pundits Nick Mallett and Swys de Bruin were recently discussing the fly-half options that Jacques Nienaber has. Stormers uncapped No10 Manie Libbok was highlighted, with both pundits praising the 25-year-old. Mallett did have reservations, however, as to whether his attacking style suits the Springboks’ template. De Bruin complimented his passing off his left hand and kicking, an area that has perhaps let Willemse down at the elite level.
This is what they said:
This is what Leicester head coach Steve Borthwick said about the Pollard injury on Saturday: “Unfortunately we have not had an update on that but he was whipped off the pitch quite quickly. It was his first game and we just hope from a Leicester perspective that he is hopefully not away for too long.”
Ben Kay added: “He [Pollard] had a knee injury with South Africa which was why he missed the end of the Rugby Championship, so he has come back and made his first appearance on that (artificial) pitch which we know some players who have had knee injuries don’t like but it might be something totally different.
“When you have got someone like that you don’t want to throw them in and then break them, so maybe it is just precautionary.”
