Handré Pollard: Bok flyhalves are all still learning
· Citizen
Healthy competition for spots is driving the Springbok flyhalves to improve as players, said Handré Pollard, but none of them has all the answers yet.
Pollard was speaking ahead of Sunday’s one-off Test against the Wallabies in Perth.
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Pollard will start at No 10 after missing the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series due to a “small calf tear” he picked up in training ahead of the second Test in Cape Town, which ruled him out of action. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu started all four Tests at flyhalf.
This also allowed Manie Libbok to come off the bench in all four Tests against the All Blacks, producing strong performances in the final matches in Soweto and Baltimore.
‘Very competitive at the moment’
Head coach Rassie Erasmus once said he has no first-choice flyhalf between the three, with each having different strengths that would be used to best effect against different opponents in different conditions.
All three have had good and poor spells for both club and country in the past few years, though Pollard said they share all they can to lift each other.
“We have some great younger guys in the system which is making it very competitive at the moment,” he said.
“But that’s a very good thing. Especially when you are a bit older, to have those guys trying to take your spot and vice versa.
“It’s an internal competition. It motivates everybody to be better… We all try and help each other wherever we can, and give advice if it’s asked for.”
Pollard said he offered what he knew to Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who was eight years younger than him. But even after two World Cup trophies he didn’t have all the answers.
“The coaches we have in the setup here, all the answers are there for us. He is still learning, and an incredibly talented rugby player.
“But only time can allow you to make those things, and you need to play a lot of Test matches to learn about different styles and conditions, different teams.”
Pollard: Springboks thankfully winning while learning
The flyhalf said the Springboks were “in a good place”, with every player, even World Cup winners, still learning.
“Luckily for us we are busy learning while still winning. I think that is a very fortunate position to be in. Because we’ve been on the other side where it’s not so nice to be learning when you are losing every second weekend.
But there’s a lot to learn for everyone. Not just Sacha and Manie but myself as well.”
He said when he started playing he was young and carefree and didn’t quite understand the consequences of some decisions he made on the field.
“As you get older you realise those. So you adapt over the years as well as you can to where the game is going.”