The World Cup winner has slipped back in the pecking order, but now has a chance to remind everyone of what he can do at the highest level.
The one person I am most looking forward to watching when the Springboks take on Argentina in Santiago on Saturday is Manie Libbok.
It is also fair to say that among the general fans and rugby-watching public Libbok will probably be the player with the most to prove, and there will also be several pairs of critical eyes focused on him if and when he enters the action from the bench.
How quickly the rugby-watching public have forgotten just what an impact the flyhalf made in the Bok squad last year, when Handre Pollard was injured, and how he turned the Bok backline into a try-scoring unit of note.
X-factor
I’m a huge fan of Libbok and I feel he can still offer the Boks plenty, either as a starter or as a player from the bench, because we’ve all seen he’s a guy who possesses that X-factor element.
The emergence, and good form, however, of Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who also has a bright future and could become something truly special for the Boks, has limited the opportunities for Libbok this season, so Saturday’s Test in Santiago is a huge opportunity for him to again show what he can do at the highest level.
Here’s hoping he gets a proper chance though as Pollard will start the match, with Libbok playing off the bench.
Of course, the main reason Libbok has slipped back in the pecking order is because of his errant and unreliable goal-kicking. It has cost the Boks in a few games in the last few years and it has cost the player his starting spot in the team.
It is unfortunate, but that is how it works in professional sport … if you can’t get the basics right — and if you’re the designated kicker in a rugby team you need to slot your kicks on a regular basis — you’re not going to get picked.
The challenge for Libbok on Saturday and again in Mbombela next week, if he gets picked, is to show he’s regained his kicking form and confidence. And then to do it throughout the upcoming URC season because if he’s kicking well, and can add that to the rest of what we know is a great all-round game, Libbok will be hard to ignore at Bok level.
