The Springboks and England go head to head in their Nations Championship opener at Ellis Park on Saturday.
Springbok flyhalf Manie Libbok has played against England on a number of occasions, including in the 2023 Rugby World Cup semifinal in France. Picture: Steve Haag/Gallo Images
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has backed flyhalf Manie Libbok to exploit England when the teams collide in their Nations Championship opener at Ellis Park on Saturday evening.
With Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu injured, and Handré Pollard’s form under the microscope after a poor URC playoff phase for the Bulls, Libbok has been handed the No10 reins for the Boks’ first Test of the season.
The Boks will be desperate to get their Nations Championship campaign off to the best possible start, and a win over England would be the perfect build-up to their clashes against Scotland at Loftus and Wales in Durban.
Erasmus has shown exactly how serious he takes the English challenge, with a very experienced team named, and Libbok will finally get a chance to run the show in one of the team’s bigger matches.
“When it’s on, we’d love Manie to exploit what’s in front of him. Sacha is injured and Handré was still playing in the URC final (just over a week ago), so we had one more week to prepare with Manie,” explained Erasmus about his decision.
“We all know the way Manie plays, but we’d also like to control the game. If it really opens up, which I think England will try to do, then I think Manie is the right guy for that.”
Lock crisis
The Boks also have a slight lock crisis on their hands, with Lood de Jager and Franco Mostert not available due to sickness and injury, while rising talent Riley Norton is also injured. This has resulted in the Boks not naming a lock replacement on the bench, with flank Pieter-Steph du Toit set to cover if needed.
“Pieter-Steph will cover lock for us. We’ve gone with a 5-3 split, but we’ve got Marco van Staden and Cameron Hanekom there and we know André Esterhuizen can also cover loose forward for us, while Jan-Hendrik Wessels covers hooker,” said Erasmus.
Erasmus said he had planned to hand Junior Springbok captain Norton his first Bok Test cap against England, before releasing him from the squad and allowing him to join the Junior Boks for the Junior World Champs playoffs, only for him to be injured in training.
“The plan was to play him in this game and then send him back to the Junior Boks for their playoffs. Unfortunately, it was in training, he just pulled his hamstring while chasing. It’s a bad hamstring. I think eight to 10 weeks (out injured),” explained Erasmus.
Returning players
“Franco Mostert is hopefully back in the next two or three weeks, Lood maybe next week, but Riley unfortunately pulled his hamstring, so the locks are certainly getting injured in our environment,” said Erasmus.
On the prop front, Wilco Louw has been afforded some time off after a difficult past couple of months, which includes his father passing away in April, which is why Thomas du Toit gets the nod to start at tighthead with Zach Porthen on the bench.
“Wilco has had a tough time. Without getting into his personal life, there was illness in the family, there was a family bereavement, he was ill for one game and he’s had a tough five or six weeks,” said Erasmus.
“We just feel Wilco needs one week to settle down a little bit. We think his body has taken some hammering over the last couple of weeks, so that’s the reason.
“Thomas starting is quite solid for us at tighthead, and Zach coming off the bench gives us someone who’s really mobile. He’s really impressed in the scrum sessions.”
