Manie Libbok

Rugby player

Manie Libbok

Full name| Immanuel Libbok

|

Date of birth|  (1997-07-15) 15 July 1997 (age 25)
Place of birth| Humansdorp, South Africa
Height| 1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in)
Weight| 76 kg (12 st 0 lb; 168 lb)
School| HTS Daniël Pienaar, Uitenhage
Hoërskool Outeniqua, George
Rugby union career
| Position(s)|  Utility back

|

Current team|  Stormers / Western Province
Youth career
2013|  Eastern Province Kings
2014–2015|  SWD Eagles
2016–2018|  Blue Bulls
Senior career
Years|  Team|  Apps|  (Points)
2016–2018|  Blue Bulls XV|  7|  (17)
2016–2019|  Blue Bulls|  16|  (129)
2018–2020|  Bulls|  21|  (65)
2020–2021|  Sharks|  11|  (18)
2020–2021|  Sharks (Currie Cup)|  7|  (0)
2021–|  Stormers|  20|  (165)
2023–|  Western Province|  |  ()

Correct as of 04 September 2022

National team(s)
Years|  Team|  Apps|  (Points)
2015|  South Africa Schools|  2|  (0)
2016–2017|  South Africa Under-20|  10|  (42)
2022–|  South Africa|  3|  (10)

Correct as of 13 April 2018

Immanuel Libbok (born 15 July 1997) is a South African International rugby union player for the Springboks and Stormers in United Rugby Championship as well as Western Province in the Currie Cup.[1] He is a utility back that can play as a fullback, fly-half, winger or centre.

## Rugby career[edit]

### 2013–2015: Schoolboy rugby[edit]

Libbok was born in Humansdorp. He attended HTS Daniël Pienaar in Uitenhage, and earned his first provincial selection in 2013, representing Eastern Province at the Under-16 Grant Khomo Week, scoring tries in matches against the Blue Bulls[2] and the Golden Lions.[3]

Libbok moved to George for 2014, where he attended Hoërskool Outeniqua. He represented the George-based SWD Eagles at the premier South African high schools rugby union tournament, the Under-18 Craven Week, in both 2014 and 2015. In the first match at the 2015 tournament held in Stellenbosch, Libbok scored two tries, four conversions and one penalty for a personal points haul of 21 points in his side's 31–41 defeat to former side Eastern Province.[4] He followed this up with a try and four conversions against the Golden Lions[5] and a third try and two conversions against KwaZulu-Natal in their final match.[6] He scored a total of 43 points in three matches, making him the top scorer at the competition,[7] while his four tries were the joint-second most in the competition, one behind Western Province's Nico Leonard.[8]

At the conclusion of the tournament, Libbok was included in a South Africa Schools team that played in the 2015 Under-18 International Series on home soil against their counterparts from Wales, France and England. He started on the left wing in their 42–11 victory over Wales in their first match,[9] but dropped to the bench for match against France, not getting any game time in their 12–5 victory.[10] He returned to the starting line-up for their final match against England, helping them to a 23–16 victory to finish the series with a 100% record.[11]

### 2016–2017: Blue Bulls / South Africa Under-20[edit]

After high school, Libbok moved to Pretoria to join the Blue Bulls academy. In March 2016, he was included in a South Africa Under-20 training squad,[12] and made the cut to be named in a reduced provisional squad a week later.[13]

Libbok was also named in the Blue Bulls squad for the 2016 Currie Cup qualification series and he made his first class debut on 8 April 2016, starting as a fullback in their 16–30 defeat to Western Province in Round One of the competition.[14] He also started their match against a Free State XV a week later, scoring his first senior points by slotting a penalty in the 15th minute of the match, and scoring his first try in the final ten minutes which proved decisive as the Blue Bulls won the match 20–17.[15] He also started their next match against Gauteng rivals the Golden Lions[16] and played off the bench in their defeat to the Eastern Province Kings in Port Elizabeth.[17]

On 10 May 2016, Libbok was included in the final South Africa Under-20 squad for the 2016 World Rugby Under 20 Championship tournament to be held in Manchester in England.[18] He started their opening match in Pool C of the tournament in the fly-half position, scoring a try as South Africa came from behind to beat Japan 59–19.[19] He switched positions with fullback Curwin Bosch for their second pool match, a 13–19 defeat to Argentina,[20] but reverted to fly-half as South Africa bounced back to secure a 40-31 bonus-point victory over France in their final pool match, with Libbok scoring his second try of the competition just after the hour mark.[21] The result meant South Africa secured a semi-final place as the best runner-up in the competition, and Libbok started their semi-final match as they faced three-time champions England. The hosts proved too strong for South Africa, knocking them out of the competition with a 39–17 victory,[22] and they also lost the third-place play-off match against Argentina, with the South American side beating South Africa for the second time in the tournament, convincingly winning 49–19[23] to condemn South Africa to fourth place in the competition. Libbok scored his third try of the competition in the defeat, to finish the competition with three tries, the joint-most by a South African player with Zain Davids and Edwill van der Merwe.[24]

Libbok returned to domestic action for the Blue Bulls U19 team in the 2016 Under-19 Provincial Championship. He made seven starts in the competition, scoring three tries during the season – one against Leopards U19[25] and two against Eastern Province U19[26] – as well as 35 points with the boot through 16 conversions and one penalty. He finished the competition as the Blue Bulls' second-highest points scorer,[27] and helped them to second place on the log[28] to secure a semi-final spot, at which stage they lost to Golden Lions U19.[29] He also made a single start for the Blue Bulls U21 team in the 2016 Under-21 Provincial Championship, scoring a try in a 52–38 victory over Leopards U21.[30]

In November 2016, he was named in the Bulls Super Rugby team's extended training squad during the team's preparations for the 2017 Super Rugby season.[31]

### 2020–2021: Sharks[edit]

### 2021–: Stormers[edit]

### National team[edit]

In October 2022, he was included in the squad for the Springboks' year-end tour.[32]

## References[edit]

1. ^ "SA Rugby Player Profile – Manie Libbok". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
2. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Blue Bulls 30–26 Eastern Province". South African Rugby Union. 1 July 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
3. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Eastern Province 29–10 Golden Lions". South African Rugby Union. 4 July 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
4. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Eastern Province U18 41–31 SWD Eagles U18". South African Rugby Union. 14 July 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
5. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – SWD Eagles U18 28–19 Golden Lions U18". South African Rugby Union. 16 July 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
6. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – KZN U18 19–24 SWD Eagles U18". South African Rugby Union. 18 July 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
7. ^ "SA Rugby Top Scorers – 2015 U18 Craven Week". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
8. ^ "SA Rugby Try Scorers – 2015 U18 Craven Week". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
9. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa U18 42–11 Wales U18". South African Rugby Union. 7 August 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
10. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa U18 12–5 France U18". South African Rugby Union. 11 August 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
11. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa U18 23–16 England U18". South African Rugby Union. 15 August 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
12. ^ "Large group invited to Junior Springbok trials camp". South African Rugby Union. 24 March 2016. Archived from the original on 31 May 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
13. ^ "Theron names provisional Junior Springbok squad". South African Rugby Union. 1 April 2016. Archived from the original on 31 May 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
14. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – DHL Western Province 30–16 Vodacom Blue Bulls". South African Rugby Union. 8 April 2016. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
15. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Vodacom Blue Bulls 20–17 Toyota Free State XV". South African Rugby Union. 16 April 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
16. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Xerox Golden Lions XV 38–17 Vodacom Blue Bulls". South African Rugby Union. 23 April 2016. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
17. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – EP Kings 19–14 Vodacom Blue Bulls". South African Rugby Union. 7 May 2016. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
18. ^ "Ward to lead Junior Springboks in England". South African Rugby Union. 10 May 2016. Archived from the original on 31 May 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
19. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa U20 59–19 Japan U20". South African Rugby Union. 7 June 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
20. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa U20 13–19 Argentina U20". South African Rugby Union. 11 June 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
21. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa U20 40–31 France U20". South African Rugby Union. 15 June 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
22. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – England U20 39–17 South Africa U20". South African Rugby Union. 20 June 2016. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
23. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Argentina U20 49–19 South Africa U20". South African Rugby Union. 25 June 2016. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
24. ^ "SA Rugby Try Scorers – 2016 World Rugby U20 Championship". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
25. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Blue Bulls U19 65–15 Leopards U19". South African Rugby Union. 15 July 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
26. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Blue Bulls U19 40–21 EP U19". South African Rugby Union. 2 September 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
27. ^ "SA Rugby Top Scorers – 2016 SA Rugby U19 Provincial Champs". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
28. ^ "SA Rugby Log – 2016 SA Rugby U19 Provincial Champs". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
29. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Blue Bulls U19 24–34 Golden Lions U19". South African Rugby Union. 15 October 2016. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
30. ^ "SA Rugby Match Centre – Leopards U21 38–52 Blue Bulls U21". South African Rugby Union. 10 September 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
31. ^ "Pollard to return to training next month" (Press release). Bulls. 18 November 2016. Archived from the original on 26 November 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
32. ^ South Africa: Manie Libbok and Sacha Mngomezulu named in Springbok squad for end-of-year Tests[1]

* v
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Stormers - current squad

Forwards|

* Kwenzo Blose
* Hacjivah Dayimani
* Paul de Villiers
* Ben-Jason Dixon
* Joseph Dweba
* Willie Engelbrecht
* Connor Evans
* Neethling Fouché
* Deon Fourie
* Brok Harris
* Steven Kitshoff
* JJ Kotze
* Leon Lyons
* Frans Malherbe
* Lee-Marvin Mazibuko
* Simon Miller
* Salmaan Moerat
* Keke Morabe
* Scarra Ntubeni
* Marvin Orie
* Junior Pokomela
* Gary Porter
* Evan Roos
* Sazi Sandi
* Adré Smith
* Chad Solomon
* Marcel Theunissen
* Ruben van Heerden
* Ernst van Rhyn
* Andre-Hugo Venter
* Ali Vermaak
* Nama Xaba

Backs|

* Clayton Blommetjies
* Angelo Davids
* Juan de Jongh
* Paul de Wet
* Dan du Plessis
* Jean-Luc du Plessis
* Suleiman Hartzenberg
* Christopher Hollis
* Herschel Jantjies
* Imad Khan
* Tristan Leyds
* Manie Libbok
* Godlen Masimla
* Sacha Mngomezulu
* Ruhan Nel
* Seabelo Senatla
* Cornel Smit
* Stefan Ungerer
* Damian Willemse
* Kade Wolhuter
* Leolin Zas
* Mnombo Zwelendaba

Coach|

* John Dobson

* v
* t
* e

Western Province - current squad

Forwards|

* Kwenzo Blose
* Matthew Coenraad
* Hacjivah Dayimani
* Dylan de Leeuw
* Paul de Villiers
* Ben-Jason Dixon
* Joseph Dweba
* Willie Engelbrecht
* Connor Evans
* Neethling Fouché
* Deon Fourie
* Louwan Horn
* Steven Kitshoff
* JJ Kotze
* Leon Lyons
* Frans Malherbe
* Armand Maritz
* Lee-Marvin Mazibuko
* Salmaan Moerat
* Keke Morabe
* Louw Nel
* Scarra Ntubeni
* Lamla Nunu
* Junior Pokomela
* Gary Porter
* Evan Roos
* Sazi Sandi
* Chad Solomon
* Marcel Theunissen
* Ruben van Heerden
* Ernst van Rhyn
* Andre-Hugo Venter
* Ali Vermaak
* Corné Weilbach
* Nama Xaba

Backs|

* Clayton Blommetjies
* Luke Burger
* Thomas Bursey
* Eward Coulson
* Angelo Davids
* Juan de Jongh
* Paul de Wet
* Dan du Plessis
* Jean-Luc du Plessis
* Suleiman Hartzenberg
* Herschel Jantjies
* Labib Kennemeyer
* Imad Khan
* Tristan Leyds
* Manie Libbok
* Damian Markus
* Godlen Masimla
* Sacha Mngomezulu
* Ruhan Nel
* Tom Nel
* Fazeel Robertson
* Jacques Rosseau
* Duncan Saal
* Seabelo Senatla
* Bruce Sherwood
* Cornel Smit
* Damian Willemse
* Kade Wolhuter
* Leolin Zas
* Mnombo Zwelendaba

Coach|

* John Dobson

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