Springbok skipper Siya Kolisi passionately comes to the defence of Manie Libbok
Springboks fly-half Manie Libbok kicking as captain Siya Kolisi watches on.
Siya Kolisi insists that the Springboks are not worried by Manie Libbok’s kicking issues after he struggled off the tee on Sunday.
Libbok has had problems heading into the tournament, leading to questions over whether they could cost South Africa in the big Rugby World Cup matches.
Against Scotland in their World Cup opener, the fly-half endured similar troubles before Faf de Klerk took over the responsibility.
It did not matter in the end result as the Boks secured an 18-3 victory, but it may well come back to bite should they reach the knockout stages.
Head coach’s thoughts
Jacques Nienaber was initially asked whether his kicking woes were a concern for the rest of the World Cup, but he quickly batted it away.
The head coach responded twice, “not if he wins man of the match”, before Kolisi interjected and forcefully put his point across during the post-match press conference.
“From a players’ point of view, this question gets asked quite a lot when he misses kicks, but we play as a team,” he said.
“Sometimes you’re not good at one thing on the day but the way he attacked, the way he took control of the team – he’s a general amongst us.
“People forget that and they remember what he didn’t do. Faf can kick, Cheslin (Kolbe) can kick, there are a lot of guys we can call upon.”
Kolisi spoke passionately on the subject for over a minute and insisted that he has similar conundrums to solve as Libbok.
The flanker has decisions to make as captain, but he also gets help from his team-mates when the going gets tough, just as the fly-half can call on assistance if he is struggling.
In it together
“When someone’s lacking somewhere, somebody else takes over. It’s the same as me. Sometimes I don’t know what to call in the game, so Duane (Vermeulen) will call, Eben (Etzebeth) will call or Manie makes a call,” the 32-year-old added.
“He’s not going to be good at everything every single day. You can’t have everything on the day, that’s why we work together. That’s why we don’t stress about it.
“It’s the same as a throw. If you throw it not straight, you don’t do it intentionally. We’re working as a group, we work together and he has confidence in us.
“If Faf has to kick, nobody stresses, we move on.”
