Poor kicking against Ireland last week was costly for the Springboks, but they don’t have an established and consistent Test kicker to turn to.
Rassie Erasmus used two specialist flyhalves over the course of the 2018 and 2019 seasons — Pollard and Elton Jantjies. Both travelled to the World Cup in Japan as goal-kicking options, although in the playoffs, it was the versatile Frans Steyn who was preferred as the flyhalf cover on the bench.
The Bulls No 10 sustained a serious knee injury during the early stages of the United Rugby Championship, and was ruled out for the better part of a year. As a result, the Boks went into the 2022 season with only two specialist flyhalf options — yet three world-class kickers, given Frans Steyn was part of a squad that included Pollard and Jantjies.Fast forward to late October, when the Boks were forced to depart for Europe without most of the aforementioned specialists.
“When I started as a coach in 2004, the average success rate in front of goal was around 65%,” Cilliers explained. “That’s what it took to be considered a top goal-kicker. By 2009, it had gone up to 77%, with Morné Steyn and Dan Carter leading the way at Test level.“In 2022, however, I would say that top goal-kickers should be averaging between 88 and 90% from the tee. The game has changed a great deal and the players clearly have the skills to achieve this.
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