Springbok fly-half Manie Libbok engaged to high school sweetheart

There might be uncertainty about whether Springbok fly-half Manie Libbok will get the nod to start at number 10 for this weekend’s Castle Lager Rugby Championship opener, but what is certain is the answer he got when he proposed to his high school sweetheart, Verna-Lee Arries, this past weekend.

The Stormers pivot received a resounding ‘yes’ when he proposed to his long-time girlfriend Arries. He shared the news on his social media, with a photo of the two on what seems like a picnic on a farm.

Libbok is enjoying a bit of a break after the Boks were given a short break with their families before the southern hemisphere series kicks off this weekend.

The national team had just completed an intense training camp last Thursday with a full day’s work.

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Manie Libbok and Verna-Lee Arries’ love story

The two met at Outeniqua High School in George in the Western Cape, which Libbok only joined in Grade 11.

“We were in the same business class and that’s where we met. He was very shy and quiet and I’m very bubbly so I was the first one talking to him,” said Lee-Arries speaking about their story in an interview with The Insider SA last year.

“She caught my eye from the word go, to be honest,” shared the rugby player in the same interview. “I just wanted to be close to her.”

“But I called him to sit behind me,” interjected Lee-Arries.

“I feel like he was more romantic on the first few dates. He invited me to a strawberry farm, we were still young though,” Lee-Arries said speaking about one of their first dates.

Arries is a Ballroom and Latin dancer and the two share quite a few things in common. “I did athletics and he also did athletics in school. I also played netball and I did a bit of dancing. We’re both very calm, we don’t like too many people,” explains Arries.

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“Being a girlfriend of a Stomers rugby player is quite normal to me, I love my normal life. But obviously we’re in the limelight and you have to get used to a lot of stuff, especially the media,” said Lee-Arries.

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