Some years ago, when I was a guest on a show, Boots ’n All, on SuperSport, Naas Botha turned to me with the faintest smile and asked: “What is the difference between a kicking flyhalf and a running flyhalf? You tell me. I keep reading this nonsense in the papers. What is it?”
I had a snarky answer that was no answer at all. One kicks and one runs? Nope, a flyhalf does both. Some kick better than others, and some run better than most, but they run and kick and pass. And tackle. It’s in the phrasing. You have conservative, safe flyhalves and attacking, adventurous flyhalves.
Somewhere in the middle of that you have the perfect No 10. That is why when one is unearthed, one such as Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, the rugby world goes gaga and purrs with happiness. We have a generational talent, a rare gift, all of our problems have been solved. There will be peace in the Middle East, an end to world hunger, climate change will abate, cancer will be cured and Jacob Zuma will go quietly into that good night in the back of a prison bus.
No 10s have to chip, chase, run, kick, pass, govern, scan, make decisions and defend. They must remain aware, calm and strong for their role is the one that sets the standard for those around them. A bad rugby team leans on their flyhalf. A great side mirrors their actions, taking heart and direction and making it their own.
In 2020, before the world locked itself down, Rugby Pass did an analysis on what makes a perfect flyhalf. They took five No 10s and combined them into one super pivot. They went with Finn Russell for passing, Dan Biggar for kicking — tactical and at goal, the decision-making of Richie Mo’unga, Beauden Barrett’s spatial awareness and, presumably because he hits hard and high, England’s Owen Farrell on his defence.
Pressure moments
Feinberg-Mngomezulu has all five of those in large measures. When younger, Handré Pollard was just about as perfect a 10 as you could wish for. “When I watched [Pollard] play under-20 rugby, he was the most dominant flyhalf at the gain line in the world as a 20-year-old,” the former All Black flyhalf and now Springbok attack coach Tony Brown said before SA played Ireland in July. “If we can get him back to playing that sort of footy, that would be amazing.”
Pollard was surprised to hear that. He shouldn’t have been. The under-20 Pollard was a joy to watch, an attacking blade of a player who over time became the Springboks’ safety player, the man for the pressure moments.
Pollard had just been called up to replace Malcolm Marx at the 2023 World Cup when he watched the Boks lose to Ireland 13-8 in the group stages. Manie Libbok and Faf de Klerk missed four kicks and 11 points went begging.
Which brings us to Libbok. He is wonderful rugby player, full of running and passing with an eye for space and the extraordinary and unexpected. His no-look kick for Kurt-Lee Arendse to score against Scotland at last year’s World Cup will forever be his defining moment.
But then there is his kicking off the tee. He twitches and swivels while standing still before kicking. Most of the time, he gets it right, but when he gets it wrong, it usually comes when his team need it the most.
Before the Boks played New Zealand last year, Gareth Wright, Libbok’s kicking coach at the Stormers, called him and persuaded him to change his angle of approach to the ball. He is, as the former Lions coach Swys de Bruin said, a different type of kicker, who approaches the ball a little too narrowly than ideal for his natural hook. Wright told him to widen his angle of approach to suit his style. He kicked with 100% accuracy against the All Blacks.
That was then. Libbok has struggled since with his control, losing his way in the five steps he takes to the ball. He is closer to 45 degrees than 90, where he should be.
Bok coach Rassie Erasmus has had Cheslin Kolbe and Jaden Hendrikse doing kicking drills ahead of Saturday’s big match against Argentina. It may provide Libbok some comfort, or it may prey on his mind and dent his confidence. If, one day, he can be a kicker as stunning as he is a runner, he will be the perfect 10. For now, Naas, he’s a running flyhalf.
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