Bobo on where we slipped up vs Ireland but why he remains bullish

Ntsako Mukansi from Mbet International and John Maylam, founder of 7qz, sat down with the legendary Gcobani Bobo, to get his views on the Boks’ RWC game vs Ireland, as well as some thoughts ahead of the game against Tonga and the rest of the tournament.

Bobo, we won’t mention the score, although if the Boks had had their kicking boots on things could have been a little different.

There seems to be a consensus going that Manie Libbok should be relieved of the pole kicking duties so that he can concentrate on the rest of his game, which has been outstanding to date. We have brought this up with you before, but it would be remiss of us not to stick to this hot topic. It is clear that Manie should not be kicking for poles right now.

1) With your coaching hat on, would you bring Handre Pollard in as a starter at centre and disrupt the current centre pairing, would you hand the kicking duties to Faf de Klerk … or would you drop Manie for Pollard at flyhalf?

Bobo: Yes, it has been difficult so far for Manie to conquer his kicking demons, but remember Pollard was only kicking at 66% accuracy for the first part of the 2019 Rugby World Cup before finding his range in the semifinals and final. Manie has shown great maturity in his game, fitting perfectly into how the Boks want to play. Against Tonga, Pollard will get much needed reps and game time. Although he has been around the Boks for a very long time, it will be important to get his rhythm and feel for the game back. Going forward you could have the option of Pollard starting, to create scoreboard pressure, then bringing on Manie to open the game up. I would not tinker too much with the centre pairings at this stage though.

2)  It is academic now as the Boks will most likely