Erasmus praises Manie Libbok and fans' reaction after Rugby Championship triumph

The 27-year-old came under fire after South Africa's 29-28 defeat to Argentina, which ended their unbeaten record in the competition and dropped them down to second in the World Rugby rankings.

Libbok came in for a lot of criticism after his 79th-minute penalty attempt in front of the posts missed the target, handing Los Pumas the victory.

However, instead of dumping the flyhalf, Erasmus backed him, starting the talented playmaker alongside Jaden Hendrikse at half-back.

To ease the pressure on the Stormers star, Hendrikse was handed place-kicking duties and it paid dividends as Libbok produced a superb individual display.

The pivot was allowed to show off his full repertoire of skills as the Springboks thrashed the South Americans 48-7 to win the Rugby Championship.

When he was taken off in the final quarter, the supporters in Mbombela showed their appreciation by giving him a huge ovation.

"We really try to stay close to the fans and we know that social media can sometimes be an evil thing," Erasmus said.

"However, it also functions as a reality check for us to stay in touch with the fans. I had a chat with Manie earlier this week and I told him he'll get back onto the horse and the guys are going to help him and Jaden will take the kicking.

"I did say in the previous week that when we were 17-0 up, we should have scored some really easy tries with the opportunities that we had.

"It's not to say Argentina are pushovers because they're really tough, but the crowd was special when they did that (giving him a standing ovation). When a player gets supported off and doesn't get booed off, that's also a â˜lekker' feeling."

In truth, Libbok should be the ideal fly-half for this Springboks side as they seek to play more expansively than they did at the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

There has been an obvious change in South Africa's style of play since the introduction of Tony Brown as the team's new attack coach.

Erasmus claims that they are improving in that area but has warned supporters that the Boks might be more conservative on their northern hemisphere tour.

The weather is rarely reliable in Britain and Ireland and, with autumn approaching, it could make attacking rugby rather more difficult in November.

"Felix Jones definitely laid the foundations with the skill level of the whole team, he helped a lot. (But) Tony is definitely bringing something to the party," the Springboks head coach said.

"We were very disappointed with ourselves as a team against Argentina last week that there were four or five tries left out there. Three-on-one, four-on-two we could have executed.

"I think it's the first time in a long time that we've scored seven tries so it's getting better.

"When we go there (to Europe), we will pull it back a little bit and play a little bit more traditional, which we've done in finals of British and Irish Lions series, World Cups, Rugby Championships.

"I think we are a team that can pull it back easy. To get to that more exciting brand is a bit more difficult for us but I think we're getting there."

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