Spoilt for choice: All three Bok flyhalves to feature against All Blacks – Rassie
· Citizen
The Springboks have some big calls to make ahead of their Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry (RGR) Test series opener against the All Blacks at Ellis Park on Saturday, with the flyhalf role especially in the spotlight.
It will all likely come down to the way the Boks want to play that decides who they pick to run the show at 10, as they have three world class options in Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Manie Libbok and Handre Pollard.
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Over the past year Feinberg-Mngomezulu has emerged as the preferred pick of Bok coach Rassie Erasmus, but Libbok and Pollard are still very attractive options for various reasons.
If the match were to come down to a grind, and the Boks need a calm composed head who is deadeye off the tee, Pollard is still the go-to man when things become an arm wrestle.
But if the Boks want to play a more attack-minded game, clearly Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Libbok are the players you would look to pick.
Although not eager to reveal his hand before the Springbok team announcement on Thursday, coach Rassie Erasmus admitted on Monday that two of the three flyhalves would be in the match day 23 this weekend, and that he expected all three to play by the end of the series.
Handre Pollard and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu are expected to also feature prominently in the series against the All Blacks. Picture: Shaun Roy/Gallo Images“We are going to pick two for this weekend. For a series this long against New Zealand, by the time these four weeks are finished, ending in Baltimore, I am pretty sure all three will play,” said Erasmus.
But who are the two that will be picked and who will be left out?
Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Pollard, due to their utility value, are the likely contenders, as Erasmus will definitely want a player who can feature in multiple positions on the bench.
He could, however, start with Libbok, and wing Cheslin Kolbe could take the kicking duties, which would then see the other two battling it out for the bench role.
Libbok has played in both of the Boks’ two biggest ever wins over the All Blacks, coming off the bench in their 43-10 win in Wellington last year and starting in their 35-7 win at Twickenham in 2023.
With Feinberg-Mngomezulu able to cover flyhalf, fullback and centre, he would then likely edge the battle for the back-up spot ahead of Pollard, who can also play centre, which would allow the Boks to add a third back replacement, probably Andre Esterhuizen as a hybrid, to the bench.
Erasmus is expected to name his matchday-23 on Thursday.