Springboks legends weigh in on fly-half battle as ‘Rassie Intelligence’ puts South Africa in a ‘privileged position’
Schalk Burgers says the Springboks are spoilt for choice at fly-half while Rassie Erasmus' management puts them in a 'privileged position'.
Legendary flanker Schalk Burgers says the Springboks are spoilt for choice at fly-half while Rassie Erasmus’ management puts them in a ‘privileged position’.
Erasmus has backed Handre Pollard, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Jordan Hendrikse and Manie Libbok in the number ten jumper this year as the Springboks continue to build their depth in the position.
This comes after South Africa went into the 2023 Rugby World Cup with just one out-and-out fly-half in Libbok with Damian Willemse and Faf de Klerk providing cover. Pollard would later be called into the squad after initially missing out through injury and played a crucial role in the team winning the tournament.
Springboks’ fly-half debate
Pollard was expected to be the clear first-choice fly-half for the Springboks this year but the emergence of Feinberg-Mngomezulu on the international scene has led to a situation where that is not as clear-cut.
The youngster has thrived in Tony Brown’s new attacking structures while many believe that Libbok would too, having only featured against Portugal and off the bench against Australia this year.
It’s a rather unusual position for the Springboks to have as they have often struggled with having strong depth in the position.
Burger was joined by fellow ex-Springboks Jean de Villiers and Hanyani Shimange on the Boks Office podcast where they discussed the current pecking order of the squad.
“The fly-half debate, let’s talk Sacha v Handre,” Shimange said kicking off the debate.
But de Villiers quickly interjected saying: “And Manie Libbok also can you remember a guy called Siya Masuku? ”
Shimange pressed on by asking Burger: “But future-wise is it horses for courses? Who is in the pound seat at the moment?”
Burger responded: “We are in the privileged position to always have Handre in the mix if we feel like it.
“If we look back at the Perth Test and it’s wet and you need someone to control it through the boot, we saw it in the World Cup in the England semi-final.
“Manie Libbok started but he was ripped off after 20 to play the conditions better through Handre, so it’s all part of what Rassie feels is going to fit best, we used to call it AI, it’s now RI – Rassie intelligence.”
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Former hooker and now commentator Shimange agreed and pointed to the Springboks’ narrow defeat to Ireland in Durban where he believed that Pollard proved his big-match temperament once again in a tough Test.
“Remember that Ireland game when we were behind who got us back into that game, it was Pollard’s kicking the one in Durban that was him almost single-handedly winning that game for us because he was so accurate and we needed every single kick to go over and the man was ice cold,” he said.
Damian Willemse
While Pollard and Feinberg-Mngomezulu look to be the favoured options for the Springboks coaching team at the moment, Burger did not forget the quality that Libbok brought to the squad last year.
He also sang the praises of Damian Willemse, who has yet to feature for the Springboks this year due to injury and is set to return to action during the opening rounds of the United Rugby Championship.
“We wouldn’t have made it through our semi-final last year without Pollard, so we are spoilt in that regard but then you got a guy like Manie that’s a great attacking threat,” he said.
“Then we forget that we did an end-of-year tour with Damian Willemse as the fly-half.”
De Villiers added: “Well, Damian at fly-half against England in 2022 was sublime, he was incredible. He slotted a dropkick and created the try for Kurt-Lee [Arendse], he was amazing.”
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Springboks centres v Los Pumas
Feinberg-Mngomezulu has been omitted from the Springboks squad for their penultimate Rugby Championship clash against Argentina as he remains in South Africa to prepare for the return fixture against Los Pumas in Nelspruit.
This opens the door for Libbok or Pollard to take the starting number ten jersey or even feature as a 10-12 axis. However, former Bok captain and centre De Villiers believes that Pollard will not be shifted to centre as the Boks will field Lukhanyo Am and Canan Moodie in the midfield.
Moodie earned his first cap of the year on the wing against the All Blacks and has started his international career with 11 straight victories. While he was in the outside backs, De Villiers sees him as a centre going forward.
“I’m excited to see Lukhanyo Am and Canan Moodie in the midfield for our next Test as a combination,” he said.
“I think 13 is eventually going to be Canan’s best position, he can really do well there obviously he played on the wing and made some judgment errors in terms of his defence but the more he sees the pictures at 13, the better he will get.”
