Handre Pollard - Match Winning Genius

At the conclusion of the 2014 IRB Junior World Championship, Pollard was called up to the senior Springbok squad for their final match of the 2014 incoming tours series against Scotland. With Springbok fly-halves Patrick Lambie and Johan Goosen both injured and Morné Steyn withdrawn from the squad by French club side Stade Français, Pollard was named as the starting fly-half for their match against Scotland.[49] He subsequently made his international debut on 28 June 2014 in Port Elizabeth, contributing thirteen points (five conversions and a penalty) to help South Africa convincingly win the match 55-6.
A few weeks later, Pollard was included in a 30-man squad named by Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer for the 2014 Rugby Championship. He was named as the fly-half for the run-on side in their opening match of the competition against Argentina at Loftus Versfeld; within two minutes of making his Rugby Championship debut, he scored his first points in this competition by converting Ruan Pienaar's early try. He also scored a penalty a few minutes later to help the Springboks to a 13-6 victory. He was the starting fly-half in five of the Springboks' six matches during the competition - Morné Steyn starting their match against Australia in Perth - and was a key player in the Springboks' final match of the competition. In particular he scored two tries (his first at international level) and kicked a further nine points as the Springboks beat New Zealand 27-25 in Johannesburg, to help end New Zealand's 22-match unbeaten run dating back almost two years and their first ever defeat in The Rugby Championship competition since its expansion in 2012. He scored a total of 43 points in the competition, in joint second place with Australian Bernard Foley on the point scoring list and nine points behind tournament top scorer, Argentina's Nicolás Sánchez.
A knee ligament injury in February 2016 caused Pollard to miss most of 2016.
Pollard was named in South Africa's squad for the 2019 Rugby World Cup. South Africa went on to win the tournament for the third time, and Pollard was the tournament's leading points scorer. After missing a penalty attempt in the second minute of the final, Pollard thereafter converted six penalty kicks, missed an eighth attempt, but then converted two tries for a personal haul of 22 points. During the final, Pollard sustained a fractured eye socket, and although he played out the game, his subsequent hospitalization forced him to miss the first four days of the team's trophy tour, but was able to join for the final leg of the tour in Cape Town.
At the 2023 Rugby World Cup semi-final, on 21 October 2023, Pollard’s 77th-minute game-winning penalty kick saw South Africa squeeze past England 16-15 and through to the final against New Zealand. One week later, on 28 October, Pollard scored all of the points for South Africa in the Rugby World Cup final against the All Blacks, as he managed to successfully convert four penalty kicks which secured a 11-12 win for the Springboks.
Pollard is South Africa's 3rd highest all-time points scorer.

[@wanaheda]

The perfect 10 for those Springboks. Ice cold veins.

[@pedroheymans7026]

Still our Nmr. 1 flyhalf even though Sacha Feinburg Imgomezulu is being hyped up, let's not forget who lead us to 2 world cups and a lions series with his skill, boot and brain.

[@marckindl1071]

What a player!

[@tomasallende3571]

Video the mateo carreras please

[@victorswart7411]

And critics say he isnt a attacking flyhalf. He is a true general, pressure dont bither him great defender and a great kicker when its mist needed. We won WCuo because if Pillard. Manie ir anyone else nit in his league