Despite the talk around the Springboks’ flyhalf options for the November tour, Manie Libbok is happy to keep his focus on the DHL Stormers and continue proving his case in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship.
At this stage, it appears that the Boks will be without incumbent Handre Pollard for the outgoing tour to Europe during November, after the World Cup winner suffered another knee injury in his Premiership debut.
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Elton Jantjies remains out of the fold, with no confirmation yet over his future, which would leave Damian Willemse and Frans Steyn as the remaining options for the No 10 position.
Libbok, who played an integral role in helping the Stormers claim the 2021-22 URC title, is among the domestic playmakers who fans would like to see given a shot at Test rugby.
“My focus now is just the Stormers,” Libbok told media from Parma on Monday.
“At the moment, I’m just trying to control what I can control and that’s to do my very best for the Stormers and this jersey and that is to put out the best performance for the team.
“Everything else will take care of itself. It’s always been and still is my dream to play for the Springboks one day and if the time comes now, I’d be grateful for that.”
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One of the major areas of improvement in Libbok’s game since he arrived in Cape Town has been his kicking, both tactical and at goal.
“That’s something I worked really hard on during the pre-season,” the 25-year-old said. “I want to get maximum distance on my kicks, especially when kicking for touch, giving us the best-possible chance to score. I worked hard with our kicking coach [Gareth Wright] and I’m just happy it is paying off.”
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Libbok was not kicking at goal in the previous URC match against Zebre in Parma, due to a heavy workload on his knees.
20-year-old Sacha Mngomezulu was handed the responsibilities and shone, slotting 17 points.
“I just felt that it would be better for me not to kick in the game. I have full confidence in Sacha and he did very well,” said Libbok.
“It’s not serious. Last week there was some discomfort in the knee and I didn’t want to put pressure on it. At the moment it feels very good.”
Photo: Twitter/@THESTORMERS
