The Springboks’ 13-8 setback to Ireland in a tense Rugby World Cup Pool B match in Paris on Saturday won’t cause panic, but there will be a difficult decision to be made over the flyhalf position for the remainder of the competition.
With their valiant defense, domination at the breakdown, and willingness to take chances, Ireland earned their victory, while South Africa struggled in their own 22 and from the kicking tee, missing three penalties and a conversion.
These 11 missed opportunities made the coaches’ dilemma clear. They must now decide between the current Manie Libbok’s dynamism with the ball in hand and the accuracy of Handre Pollard, who has recovered from a calf injury but does not provide the same skills in attack.
Rassie Erasmus, South Africa’s director of rugby, told reporters on Sunday, “Handre will play this weekend (against Tonga in Marseille next Sunday), but let’s see how he does the other stuff in the game.”
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“Can he handle it from a contact standpoint? He’ll probably need some time to settle into a rhythm when kicking while under pressure.
“The Tonga match will be a great test for him as a benchmark to see where he is before we go, if we go, into those quarter-finals, and who will be on the field,” the coach said.
Manie is playing flyhalf rugby right now in a terrific manner, but his goal-kicking is not up to par.
The addition of Pollard could signal a return to the strategy that helped them win the 2019 World Cup: pressuring teams with strong forwards into penalties and increasing the pressure on the scoreboard through goal kicks.
But Erasmus is adamant that they won’t pick him again unless they are satisfied he can deliver an all-around game.
Handre is not Superman, declared Erasmus. He was not at all prepared to play rugby four weeks ago. He has only played rugby for the past 40 minutes.
“He cannot simply onto the field and kick goals. He needs to clean out at the rucks, tackle, pass, kickoff, sidestep, and make handoffs.
