Jacques Nienaber is realistic about the upcoming performance of veteran flyhalf Handre Pollard, who returns for the Springboks against Tonga on Sunday after a calf injury.
Pollard will play his first Test since August 2022, and only recently had a 30-minute appearance for his club, Leicester Tigers. Due to concerns about Pollard’s fitness, the Boks opted for a five-three bench split this weekend, with Manie Libbok providing cover.
Speaking in a Bok conference on Wednesday, head coach Nienaber acknowledged that Pollard hasn’t played for the Boks in 13 months and hasn’t been involved in top-level rugby for a while.
And while Pollard is an experienced player with World Cup and British & Irish Lions series wins, Nienaber urges patience as the veteran pivot adapts to the pace of the World Cup.
“That’s why we went with a five-three split. If you look at Handre, he hasn’t played top-level club rugby since the first weekend in May,” Nienaber told reporters.
“I think it’s about 19 weeks ago and in that 19 weeks, he’s only played 30 minutes of club rugby and that was in the Premiership Cup the other night.
“There’s a good possibility that he probably would struggle to get through an intense game, a good probability that he might cramp up. That’s why we went with the five-three and have Manie [Libbok] on the bench just for cover.
He added: “What do I expect of him? A realistic performance.
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“I think that’s where we must all stay in the reality of it. He hasn’t played for the Boks in 13 months; he last played in the last week in August 2022 for the Springboks.
“He hasn’t played top-level rugby since the first week in May, which is 19 weeks ago. In saying that, he’s a quality rugby player and we all know that. He’s won a World Cup before, he’s won a British & Irish Lions series before.
“So he understands what international rugby and top international rugby is about, but I think we must stay real in that and give him time to settle in and get used to the pace of it.”
Regarding South Africa’s inconsistent goal-kicking, Nienaber points out that the world champions won 75% of their matches during Pollard’s absence, and some of the losses were against top-ranked teams like Ireland and New Zealand.
He believes the goal-kicking issue is not solely responsible for these losses and that the Boks need to address other concerns, such as converting try-scoring opportunities near the opponent’s goal line, which he considers a more significant issue.
“Yes, we are not consistent off the tee. But the guys that stepped in, I don’t think they did a bad job,” Nienaber insisted.
“In the game against Ireland, we had four opportunities within one metre of their goal-line, which we butchered. Four. That, for me, is a much bigger issue that we have to sort out.
“You can’t get yourself within one metre of Ireland’s try line and then you butcher four opportunities.”
Photo: Christiaan Kotze/Gallo Images