Cape Town - "I worked very hard on Manie's goal-kicking the whole week ..."
With that little quip Stormers coach John Dobson had the media at the post-match press conference in stitches before praising his flyhalf Manie Libbok who played a key role in the Stormers' win over the Bulls in the United Rugby Championship (URC) quarter-final on Saturday.
Libbok, who came under the spotlight after a terrible kicking display against Munster a couple of weeks ago, slotted all his goal attempts and had a hand in a couple of tries to guide his team to a 33-21 win in the North-South derby in the DHL Cape Town Stadium.
Playing against the team and coach who deemed him surplus to requirements in Pretoria, Libbok turned on the magic to help his side book a home semi-final next weekend against Connacht.
"There's been a bit of noise around him for the last few weeks. He was not a Test flyhalf, tomorrow he will be," Dobson said on Libbok.
"The growth in Manie from where we were when he came here, he had that ability to spiral, and lots of players do. Now, he's got that ability to put things behind him. He is very mature like that.
"Last year in Durban, and we spoke about this, he spiraled and everything went worse and worse. But he has fixed that and manages to stay in the fight, he turned that into a positive trait."
Libbok bamboozled the Bulls' defenders on many occasions using his vision for gaps, but also his deceiving pace to outstrip defenders in front of him.
Zas is BACK 😍@TheStormers flyer creating poetry ❤️@Vodacom #URC | #UnitedWeRise | #STOvBUL pic.twitter.com/xNRkhyd1e7
— Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial_RSA) May 6, 2023
He has that ability to know, almost every time he attacks, which shoulder of a waiting tackler to run onto. Or, he sees that mismatch in the midfield quicker than other players and he capitalises on that.
The Bulls struggled to contain him and scrumhalf Herschel Jantjies as they led the Stormers' attack brilliantly in the first half, finding space with runs or kicks in behind the defence.
It was the defending URC champions' sixth straight victory over the Bulls, one that didn't go down well with Jake White, coach of the Loftus side. He stopped short of blaming the referee and his assistants but pointed out various incidents where he felt his team didn't get the rub of the green.
Steven Kitshoff, Stormers captain, was proud of his team's efforts and said they delivered on what was asked of them.
Kitshoff and Dobson were also happy Connacht pulled off a win over Ulster so that the Stormers will have a home semi-final.
In a flash of pink, @TheStormers Hacjivah Dayimani kickstarts this QF party 🕺![CDATA[]]>💃@Vodacom #URC | #UnitedWeRise | #STOvBUL pic.twitter.com/nholbbFV8D
— Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial_RSA) May 6, 2023
"I was watching the game and celebrated everything Connacht did, they played well. It is nice to stay at home for another week," Kitshoff said.
He will most likely then play his final game for the Stormers at DHL Stadium if Leinster makes the final and they pull off a win over Connacht. A trip to Dublin will then be on the cards for the defending champions.
@Leighton_K