Springbok fans must manage their expectations of Handre Pollard

Springbok fans and pundits will need to manage their expectations of Handre Pollard, after the Boks went down 13-8 against Ireland in their Rugby World Cup pool match last weekend.

The loss was largely down to the inaccuracy of the kickers, with Manie Libbok and Faf de Klerk missing four of the team’s five shots at goal, with the 11 points missed proving to be the difference in a five-point defeat.

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This has seen calls for the return of Pollard, who recently re-joined the Bok squad as an injury replacement for Malcolm Marx, to the starting line-up going forward.

However, Pollard is not a silver bullet for the Boks and expectations of him will need to be heavily tempered over the rest of the World Cup.

Since the previous World Cup in Japan in 2019, where Pollard played a major role in helping the Boks lift the Webb Ellis Cup for the third time, the Boks’ first choice flyhalf has struggled with inconsistent form and a number of injuries.

He has not been able to reach those heights over the past few years and the constant injuries have surely had a toll on his confidence and form.

Bok impact

That is not to say that he won’t be able to make an impact on the Bok squad over the rest of the tournament and he may yet be the answer to the team’s kicking woes.

But we have to realise that this is someone who has played very little rugby over the past year and a half and he is stepping straight onto the biggest stage in world rugby under immense pressure.

So he will need the full support of the rugby public and pundits, and if he is not up to the standard that everyone is expecting of him, people will have to understand and accept that.

Pollard is likely to feature in this weekend’s game against Tonga, and if the Bok management are hoping to play him in the competition knockouts, he will probably need to start.

His performance against the Pacific islanders will then likely decide who between him and Libbok will be the first choice flyhalf during the knockouts, should the Boks reach that stage as they are expected to do.