The Springboks know what a weapon they have in Manie Libbok, who is undoubtedly one of the most naturally gifted X factor flyhalves in the game, boasting an ability to kick off both feet, while his passing distribution in either direction is quite sensational.
However, it’s his kicking game at times that has let him down, and missed shots at goal particularly saw him come under fire during the 2023 World Cup, and at various times last season.
In a search for solutions, the Springboks took the goal-kicking duties away from him in certain situations, but Libbok has gone back to ‘school’ to ensure this area of his game no longer remains a weakness.
“It’s one area of my game I’ve worked really hard on to get right in the past few months,” he told the media on Wednesday. “It is a continuous process working on it. I had a really good week this week kicking to poles and I hope I can build on that.”
Manie Libbok on a mission
In the one-off game against the Barbarians recently, Libbok produced a perfect five-from-five kicking display off the tee, and he now wants to ensure that translates to more high-pressure situations.
“I’m just happy I got it right against the Barbarians. My focus now is just to improve on that performance and do my best to get it right going into this Test as well.”
Saturday’s Test against Italy kicks off at 17:10 and will be broadcast live on SuperSport and SABC.
Springbok record against Italy:
Played 17; Won 16; Lost 1; Points for: 806, Points against: 219; Tries scored 108, Tries conceded 19; Highest score 101-0; Biggest win 101 points. Win % 94%.
Miscellaneous:
- Willie le Roux will become only the eighth player in history to play 100 Tests for South Africa, following in the footsteps of Eben Etzebeth, Victor Matfield, Bryan Habana, Tendai Mtwawarira, John Smit, Jean de Villiers, and Percy Montgomery.
- Le Roux made his debut against Italy on 8 June 2013 and will celebrate his 100th Test cap against the same opponents 12 years later.
- Makazole Mapimpi will play his 47th Test match on Saturday, and requires only three more Test caps to join the elite group of players who have played 50 Tests.
- Manie Libbok requires only two more points to score 100 Test points in the green and gold. He is currently on 98 points.
- The Springboks have faced Italy 17 times and won 16 of those matches. Their only defeat was in Florence in 2016, where Italy pipped the Boks by 20-18.
- The Wiese brothers (Cobus and Jasper) will become the 37th set of brothers to play for the Springboks.
- The total Test caps for the Springbok starting line-up is 493.
- There are 213 caps in the backline, with 280 caps among the forwards. On the bench, there are a further 98 caps.
- The average caps per player in the backline is 30, the forwards 35, while the players on the bench average 12.
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