Despite being hailed as a “national treasure,” Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus has come under fire by rugby fans for his decision to start flyhalf Manie Libbok in this weekend’s clash against Argentina.

 

 

To the surprise of many South Africans, the number 10 was named in a squad announcement on Tuesday, 24 September.

The player has been mercilessly mocked on social media after missing a crucial kick in last weekend’s match in Santiago. Argentina won the game 29-28.

The Boks will play Los Pumas again on Saturday, 28 September, at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit.

RASSIE QUESTIONED OVER DECISION TO START MANNIE LIBBOK
On Tuesday, Heritage Day, Rassie Erasmus announced that the squad was set to play Argentina again this weekend.

To the surprise of many South Africans, Manie Libbok was given a starting feature, with Handre Pollard as a substitute.

On social media, there were mixed reactions…

@bishopdave1965: “Wtf is wrong with Rassie? Libbok has already lost us so many games, but they keep picking him. Do we want to lose the rugby championship or what?”

@SindisoBaliso: “Rassie must stop this Libbok experiment. It’s not working. He must remove him from the team“.

Others praised Rassie for having confidence in his players.

@mr_shimmy: “I knew Rassie would go against the people just for Manie. He really loves his players, but he will never allow the supporters to criticise them on his watch“.

@utdyoda: “Great to see Rassie still keeping faith with Manie. He’s gonna cook this weekend”.

@tnmaunye: “Rassie honestly doesn’t care about people’s opinions.”

‘TAKES IT ON THE CHIN’
Meanwhile, Rassie Erasmus claims that he and the rest of the Springboks have “had a little laugh at some of the memes” about Manie Libbok.

He said in a statement: “We see it as people who haven’t gone through that, haven’t felt that kind of pressure and don’t know how tough it is. We totally understand that people will criticise him, and he takes it on the chin.

manie libbok, springboks, argentina
A Manie Libbok superfan has defended him against criticism of his Springboks kicking skills.
Images via X: @sardieqwp
He continued: “We all, as the management and the coaching staff, take it on the chin. But the only way to get a guy like him through this is to get back on the horse and ride it until it is flat again.

“We have made some plans on the way we want to play and Manie’s role at 10 this week, and we have made some plans around goalkicking which will help people out.”