Both Pollard and Libbok will be looking to make the 10 jersey their own.
Image: X /@sport_wordsmith
Pollard comes out to bat for Manie Libbok — ‘We’ve got to stick together’
Handre Pollard says the Springboks’ kicking woes can be easily fixed and that he’s there to assist and take the pressure off the likes of Manie Libbok and Faf de Klerk.
Both Pollard and Libbok will be looking to make the 10 jersey their own.
Image: X /@sport_wordsmith
Back in August, Handre Pollard was one of the shock omissions from the Springboks’ original World Cup squad after he lacked the necessary fitness due to a calf injury.
However, he returned to full fitness soon after the Springboks headed to France, and he was then selected as the player to call up after an unfortunate injury to hooker Malcolm Marx.
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Pollard will now return to the No. 10 jersey for this Sunday’s clash against Tonga in his first appearance for the Springboks since August last year following calf and knee injuries.
His return to the No. 10 jersey was fast-tracked by the Springboks’ kicking woes, all of Manie Libbok, Damian Willemse and Faf de Klerk struggling to find form off the kicking tee so far at the Rugby World Cup.
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But Pollard is confident of the kicking group in the Springbok team and is adamant that they’ll come good in the playoffs.
“Kicking is, of course, the hot topic at the moment, but I see how the guys work every single day at their craft,” he said in an interview with SuperSport. “We’ve all seen them kick 100% games in the past, so they’ve all got it in them.”
“We as a kicking unit just gotta stick together within this time and get through this. It can change overnight, I firmly believe, because I know those guys and myself had done it in the past.
“So it’s a big part of the game, yes, when it comes to playoffs or big Test matches, but we can’t just judge the players on that. There’s a lot more to it, and I think the guys that have been in those positions have really been playing well.
“I think that’s just something small; it’s a small tweak here or there that will put them right back on track, and hopefully, I can assist in that way, taking some pressure off them this weekend, but you never know what’s gonna happen, so we’ll have to wait and see.”
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Click here to watch the Pollard interview.
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