Springbok flyhalf Manie Libbok will be looking to unleash his creative spark if given the nod for Saturday’s Test against the All Blacks in Cape Town, and that could alleviate some pressure off Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu who had a tough time at Ellis Park.
For many Springboks fans, it wasn’t just the unexpected defeat to the All Blacks that hurt; it was the uninspiring way the team played.
That is particularly disappointing when you consider the previous meeting between the sides, in Wellington in 2025. On that occasion, the Boks played thrilling rugby in a 43-10 demolition. They scored six tries — four of them by the backs — and the scale of the victory convinced even the bitterest Springbok sceptics that this was the best team on the planet. And by some margin.
Later that year, the Boks rampaged through Europe to cement their place at the summit of the World Rugby rankings.
The swaggering style in which they dispatched France, Italy and Ireland was precisely why the Boks were firm favourites to beat the All Blacks in the first Test. They had added attacking panache to their traditional power game and set-piece supremacy.
