South Africa's flyhalf Manie Libbok speaks during a press conference at Roland Garros Stadium in Paris, on October 10, 2023, as part of the France 2023 Rugby World Cup Springboks flyhalf Manie Libbok has come under fire once more for goal-kicking under pressure. Picture: Julien de Rosa/AFP
It all came down to a missed kick from replacement Springboks flyhalf Manie Libbok, and for many South African fans that will be all they remember about their nation’s Rugby Championship defeat to Argentina over the weekend.
Libbok, who came on for Handre Pollard in the 47th minute, had the chance to put his side ahead with just a minute remaining on the clock, but spurned the opportunity to see Los Pumas claim a 29-28 victory in Santiago del Estero on Saturday.
Had the Springboks won, they would have sealed the Rugby Championship with a game to spare.
Despite the loss, the Springboks only need a single point from their final match of the competition against Argentina this weekend in Mbombela.
The miss was from 35 metres out, from a fairly simple angle, but Libbok pulled his attempt well left of the posts. In fairness, it was a glaring miss.
Libbok is widely regarded as an excellent flyhalf, with a running and top tactical game that is almost unmatched by any other in South Africa, except perhaps the injured Sacha-Feinberg Mngomezulu.
Even his goalkicking is generally good as he has displayed in the United Rugby Championship in the past, but in pressure moments for the Springboks it would take a brave punter to put money on Libbok.
Even Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus conceded that the pressure got to Libbok.
“He has been kicking well this whole week and kicked so well in the warm-up. He slotted everything, but that’s pressure,” said Erasmus.
Erasmus, though, said Libbok should not be blamed for the loss.
“It was not a great display by us. Manie is going to get a lot of flak, we all know that. He must find a way to manage that.
“I am sure we will all get a lot of flak for him missing that kick. But it shouldn’t have been on the last kick for us to win. We should have done it much earlier.”
Fans on social media, however, were not as kind as Erasmus.
Kevin Schaafsma on the IOL News Facebook page wrote: “If that had been a World Cup final and we missed an easy kick to win the World Cup, of course it's the fault of the kicker!
“One job to do mate, one job! The rest of the team put the kicker in the position to win it. It's why Pollard gets paid so well.”
Meanwhile, Sharks Jordan Hendrikse who featured for the Springboks earlier this year against Wales before the Rugby Championship - was the hero in the Currie Cup final over the weekend.
Admittedly not in the same atmosphere as Test level, Hendrikse slotted a last-minute penalty from 59 metres to help the Sharks beat the Lions 16-14 at Ellis Park to lift the Currie Cup title.
The comparisons between Hendrikse and Libbok are unavoidable, and while Erasmus has to defend his selected goal kicker publicly it does not mean he won’t have felt let down by his player.
Ultimately, Libbok’s miss likely won’t cost the Springboks the Rugby Championship - but it may become increasingly more difficult to justify his place in the national team unless he can prove he can handle those big pressure moments from the kicking tee.
* Michael Sherman is a digital journalist at IOL Sport
* The views expressed are not necessarily the views of IOL or Independent Media.
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