Former Springbok coach Nick Mallett believes Saturday’s Nations Championship opener against England could prove a defining Test for Manie Libbok.
Libbok has been preferred ahead of Handré Pollard for the Ellis Park showdown, with Mallett convinced the playmaker’s performances in Japan have helped address one of the biggest questions hanging over his game.
“I think he had a very good success rate in Japan,” Mallett said on the Talking Boks podcast.
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“The fact that people think of him as a poor goal kicker is a monkey that Manie has to get off his back. If he can just get the consistency up to around 75 or 80%, then it’ll make a big difference to his selection prospects for the future.”
Mallett also expects inside centre Damian de Allende to remind everyone why he remains one of the first names on the Springbok team sheet despite increasing competition from André Esterhuizen.
“Have you ever seen Damian de Allende play a bad game for the Springboks?” he asked.
“I can’t remember him ever going backwards in a tackle. He’s getting on. Your Esterhuizens are pushing him really hard, he hasn’t played for a while but I can see him performing really well on Saturday.
“He’s got to give us that front-foot ball. As soon as we get that go-forward ball from our inside centre, we can then get our forwards around the corner and start bashing holes in that England defence.”
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Looking at the opposition, Mallett singled out England loose forward Henry Pollock as a player the Springboks cannot afford to underestimate.
He praised Erasmus’ relaxed approach to the 21-year-old’s outspoken personality, saying the England star thrives on the spotlight.
“I liked what Rassie said about him. He’s not too concerned about what a player does off the field. He’s only interested in his input and output on the rugby field, and Pollock does a lot on the rugby field,” said Mallett.
“Where he is surprisingly good is in the really tight moments, the turnover situations. He’s a guy who plays to the ball, he’s got tremendous pace so he can do the stuff out wide and reminds me a bit of Cameron Hanekom.
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“Pollock has all these skills, but unlike Hanekom, Pollock does things because I think he wants to get people talking more about rugby. He’s just that type of personality.
“The more he gets up for it, the better he plays. The more you say we’re going to smash him and punch him and break him in half, he won’t back off. It’s not in his nature.”
Photo: David Rogers/Getty Images
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Former Springbok coach Nick Mallett believes Saturday’s Nations Championship opener against England could prove a defining Test for Manie Libbok.
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