In the penultimate round of the Rugby Championship, Manie Libbok inevitably came in for criticism after missing a regulation penalty that would have seen the Springboks defeat Argentina.
It has been a challenging season for Libbok to date as he seemingly fell down the flyhalf pecking order, while receiving limited game-time prior to Saturday’s clash against Argentina.
Unfortunately goal-kicking has been the one area of Libbok’s game that remains highly inconsistent, and he inevitably bore the brunt of anger from Springbok fans online after the loss in Argentina.
However, Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus once again demonstrated how he views things completely differently to most, and confidently backed Libbok to ‘redeem’ himself after selecting him to start at flyhalf this past weekend.
The Stormers star repaid this faith with an outstanding all-round performance, having been able to shake off the shackles without the burden of goal-kicking as Jaden Hendrikse instead took on this responsibility.
Reflecting on this sequence of events, Erasmus explained what he had shared with Libbok in the lead up to the latest match.
“We really try to stay close to the fans and we know that social media can sometimes be an evil thing,” Erasmus said.
“However, it also functions as a reality check for us to stay in touch with the fans. I had a chat with Manie earlier this week and I told him he’ll get back onto the horse and the guys are going to help you and Jaden will take the kicking.
“I did say in the previous week that when we were 17-0 up, we should have scored some really easy tries with the opportunities that we had.
“It’s not to say Argentina are pushovers because they’re really tough, but the crowd was special when they did that. When a player gets supported off and doesn’t get booed off, that’s also a ‘lekker’ feeling.”
YOU CAN SEE SOME OF THE POSITIVE REACTION TO THE LATEST PERFORMANCE FROM MANIE LIBBOK BELOW:
DO YOU THINK THE STORMERS STAR SHOULD REMAIN THE SPRINGBOKS’ NO 10?
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