Bobo’s thoughts on the Boks vs Ireland

Ntsako Mukansi from Mbet International and John Maylam, founder of 7qz, sat down with the legendary Gcobani Bobo to get his views on the Springboks’ Rugby World Cup game against Romania, as well as some thoughts ahead of the big game against Ireland.

Bobo, let’s kick off with the elephant in the room … Handre Pollard. Malcolm Marx’s unfortunate injury has opened the door for Pollard to be called in. Manie Libbok has been playing exceptionally well and brought a new dimension to the Springboks backline, yet his inconsistent goal kicking has been a topic of hot debate.

1) There are many who believe that you cannot afford to play tight World Cup knockout games without an accurate kicker. So how do you fit Pollard in? Play him at centre and disrupt the current pairings? Start him and bring Manie on from the bench? Start Manie and bring Pollard off the bench?

I really feel for Malcolm, having been there myself in 2003, when I tore my ACL in a warm-up game. I wish him a speedy recovery. As for Pollard coming in, remember he is a proven World Cup winner, and this will be his third Rugby World Cup. I don’t think he will start, as management will not want to mess with Manie’s flow. That said, having Pollard off the bench will give Manie a boost knowing that there is experienced cover on the bench if things go wrong for him. This likely means that either Willie le Roux or Damian Willemse will need to drop out of the match day 23, if we go for a 6-2 split.

2) Hooker is another hot topic. Who backs up Bongi Mbonambi, and how does this disrupt the two sets of front row combinations? The Marx-Malherbe-Kitshoff combo seemed to gel and so did Bongi-Ox-Nyakane as a combination. Bongi needs to start, that is not up for debate, so does