Opinion: Manie Libbok slander after Stormers loss is unreasonable
The outrage and censure aimed at Manie Libbok following the Stormers’ agonising elimination from the Champions Cup is woefully misdirected.
Manie Libbok may have skewed what could’ve been a match-winning conversion at the death, but that is not the reason the Stormers lost by a point against La Rochelle.
THE BLAME GAME
La Rochelle, featuring former Western Province and Stormers ace Dillyn Leyds, are not the back-to-back European champions for nothing, and the Stormers found that out the hard way.
And, there were ample reasons that happened. But by the time the full-time whistle sounded, Manie Libbok was immediately singled out as the scapegoat — both in and around the stadium as well as online — because of his match-deciding miss.
Fans and commentators conveniently put all that had preceded that moment at the back of their minds and bashed on about how the flyhalf had cost the Stormers a place in the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup.
STORMERS WERE THEIR OWN WORST ENEMY
So let’s remind a little and give a little context of just why the Stormers found themselves in that precarious position at the death of the match to begin with.
The home side turned on the style in the first half and opened up a healthy 13-point lead at the break. They were all over La Rochelle like a rash. That lead was extended to 16-0 at the start of the second half and 11 of those points came off Libbok’s boot (three penalties and a conversion).
Irrespective of who you are and how to lost, no team fully deserves to win a game after squandering a 16-point lead, and doing so in a contest of this magnitude no less.
The Stormers relinquished that healthy advantage to a rejuvenated La Rochelle side that scored 22 unanswered points, which by the end turned out to be unassailable points.
The defending champions’ comeback was of course aided by the Stormers’ horrid luck with injuries on the day. The home side lost breakdown jackal Deon Fourie, his replacement Hacjivah Dayimani and their captain Salmaan Moerat to injury, with the trio needing medical assistance on the field. Fourie and Dayimani were also driven off the field on the medical cart.
That disruption cost the Stormers their dominance up front and especially at the breakdown, and it created that initial window of opportunity for La Rochelle to get back into the game inside that opening 20 minutes of the second half.
Another crucial moment which contributed to the defeat, was when the Stormers conceded a yellow card after repeated infringements inside their 22.
But perhaps the most consequential moment of all was when Damian Willemse had a free run to the tryline in the left-hander corner after they had gone behind, but because he wanted to make the conversion attempt easier, he decided against getting the five points on offer and instead stepped inside to try to get closer to the posts. But he was caught by the La Rochelle cover defence and the Stormers failed to get anything.
Had Willemse scored in the corner and the kick was missed, there would have still been just about enough time for a restart and an opportunity to perhaps play for a penalty or work towards a drop goal.
And that’s not to say Willemse was/is to blame for the loss either. But rather there was a culmination of moments that led to the Stormers’ downfall. Unfortunately for Manie Libbok, his missed kick was just the final one of those moments.
But he wasn’t to blame for that outcome and he didn’t deserve to be casted as the villain that led to his team’s downfall.
The slander is unreasonable, unwarranted, and quite frankly, ridiculous.
