Bok goal-kicking: Should we be concerned or are we over-reacting?

Following the Springboks’ 18-3 win over Scotland in their opening Rugby World Cup game, it is clear the Boks have something of a goal-kicking crisis. Or, are we not there yet, and are Bok fans making too big a deal of it?

First-choice flyhalf Manie Libbok produced a man-of-the-match performance on Sunday, with his general play again top-notch, but he fell short in the goal-kicking department, missing three out of five kicks for the poles. He was relieved by Faf de Klerk, who slotted one out of two.

Libbok’s goal-kicking was already a major point of debate before the World Cup, but he appeared to have sorted it out with an excellent performance off the tee in the impressive win against the All Blacks at Twickenham.

Libbok defended

On Sunday against Scotland, the Bok No 10 seemed to be put off by the “shot clock” which appeared to rush him into taking the kicks, something he doesn’t seem to have been bothered by before. And one of the kicks was a long-range effort which possibly should not have been attempted in the first place.

Captain Siya Kolisi has defended Libbok and so, too, has coach Jacques Nienaber, saying that there are other players in the team who can step up and kick at goal and that if Libbok is winning the man-of-the-match award (as he did against Scotland), then there’s no reason to be worried.

Yes, agreed, De Klerk can kick at goal, and so can Cheslin Kolbe and Damian Willemse, but none of them are first-choice kickers at their clubs and franchises. And Libbok is the chosen man to take the kicks.

Vital to kick goals

The opening weekend of the World Cup demonstrated how vital it is to have a formidable goal-kicker in your team.

France’s Thomas Ramos kicked 17 points in his team’s 27-13 win over the All Blacks, while England’s George Ford kicked all 27 points to steer his side to victory against Argentina.

When push comes to shove, Libbok will have to produce a kicking masterclass when games get tighter at the backend of the tournament.

The good news though is that we’ve seen Libbok kick well before and know he can do it, and hopefully he will come right sooner rather than later.