Springbok fly-half Manie Libbok expects a massive battle in the Springboks' final home Test of 2025, when they clash in the Castle Lager Rugby Championship against the Pumas in Durban on Saturday, but they were excited about the challenge.
Libbok said they were fully focused on doing what they had to this weekend for the Boks to stay in the race to defend their Rugby Championship title they won for the first time since 2019 last year, especially with all four participating teams in the series (the Wallabies, All Blacks, Springboks, and Pumas) still in with a fair shot of lifting the trophy.
Zoning in on Argentina’s backs, Libbok said: “Many of their players have sevens rugby backgrounds, and they are quick and agile with a great skillset, so we know we have a big challenge on our hands this weekend, but we are looking forward to it.
“They are very good in the aerial battle, which is an area we also pride ourselves on, so it’s also going to be a key battle in the match.”
When asked about how he felt about his performance off the replacements bench and in his goal kicking in the team’s record 43-10 victory against the All Blacks in Wellington, Libbok remained humble and said it was great to see how everything came together in the second half.
“I just came on from the bench to do a job and fulfil my role. The pressure was on when I got onto the field, but I took a lot of confidence from the preparation we’d done throughout the week. Our training is always at game intensity, so it wasn’t something new for me to step into.”
“My focus was just to do whatever was needed in that situation, add to the team, and try to put us in the best possible position to get a result.”
“For me it’s always about control and balance. Part of my job is to make sure I don’t overplay the forwards, so they still have energy for the set piece and especially when we get into the opposition 22. That’s important, to manage their energy so they can punch when needed.”
Libbok added: “I’ve put a lot of work into my goal-kicking, and it’s good to see the hard work pay off, so I’ll certainly keep working it and always do my best.”
“Handre (Pollard), Sacha (Feinberg-Mngomezulu) and I work really well together and push one another really hard, and that definitely brings the best out of all of us.”
“We feed nicely off each other. The three of us push each other every day in training to be better, and that brings out the best in all of us. Working with Sacha, we’ve come a long way together from the Stormers. We learn from each other, and that helps all three of us elevate our games.”
