Cipriani’s struggles highlight Steyn’s value
25 Nov 2008
Danny Cipriani’s failure to front against the world’s elite rugby nations should deepen South Africans’ appreciation of Frans Steyn’s talent.
Cipriani was last week described as “one of the finest players of his generation” by The Times of London. The paper made comparisons between Cipriani and the world’s premier flyhalf Dan Carter. Injured England pivot Jonny Wilkinson, writing in his weekly Times column, said the 21-year-old was streaks ahead of him in terms of his development after just five Tests, and expressed confidence in him being able to control a Test against the best teams in the world.
Cipriani failed to live up to any of the hype against the Springboks, disappearing in a maze of mediocrity, and costing his team seven points when Ruan Pienaar charged down an attempted clearance. Following that Test former Australia coach Eddie Jones reiterated his belief that Cipriani offered nothing to suggest he was an international quality flyhalf, and questioned the faith the England management, media and public had in the Wasps man.
There’s unfounded hype and hype with substance. Cipriani slots comfortably into the former category. He is undeniably talented, and in the future perhaps he’ll develop into a quality pivot. But certainly not a world-class one. The Springboks’ very own 21-year-old Frans Steyn is hype with substance.
He dominated the Currie Cup in his rookie season, scored a try on Test debut and looked comfortable on his first Springbok tour in 2006. He followed that with impressive performances for the Sharks in the 2007 Super 14 against some of the world’s elite players and shone at the World Cup in a position (inside centre) unfamiliar to him.
Steyn is not without his flaws – there are many – but he has shown immense promise and has provided tangible evidence to suggest that he could progress to be a dominant force in world rugby in future. Cipriani, for all the column inches dedicated to him in the English press, seems to be more prolific off the pitch than on it.
Cipriani has been mildly impressive in the Premiership and European Cup, but the quality of those competitions is questionable. The southern hemisphere teams, even when they’ve played poorly, have negotiated the best the northern hemisphere has to offer on their year-end tour matches. They are superior players, playing in tournaments of superior quality. The measure of any player is his ability to front in those tournaments and in the World Cup, where pressure is at its peak. Steyn has achieved both.
If Cipriani is the future of English rugby, that future looks bleak indeed. South Africans should take heart from the fact that in time Steyn’s rough edges will be smoothed and he’ll touch the ceiling of his potential. The English are secretly unsure whether Cipriani will reach that level.
Steyn has been much maligned by the South African press and public. But his value becomes apparent when viewed in the context of Cipriani’s struggles. No other nation possesses a 21-year-old of Steyn’s calibre. For that we should celebrate.
By Ryan Vrede
537 Comments
Pages: « 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 [11] Show All
25 Nov 2008, 18:20 pm
Not sure if I’m in Holland reading a newspaper in Amsterdam, or reading a Dutch story of Jan van Riebeeck, or lets say De La Rey.
25 Nov 2008, 18:32 pm
# Sir Watson:
No Sir, the days of Jacob Westerduin are gone, no Dutch here..
We are conversing in Afrikaans, our winning coach’s native language!
Don’t be fooled by the De Villiers part of his name, he is not not French, he is Afrikaans !
Proudly South African!
25 Nov 2008, 18:32 pm
# Sir Watson:
The doobie that good hmm?
25 Nov 2008, 18:35 pm
#503 Jinxie: What comment of the good Sir’s are you referring to? Has it been deleted?
25 Nov 2008, 18:36 pm
#503 Jinxie: I ask because I’m desperate to get some of that doobie for Plett rage.
Clearly does crazy things to the mind…
25 Nov 2008, 18:38 pm
I am sure you’ll all agree that Luke Watson was sorely missed (NOT) on Saturday in the thumping of England…
25 Nov 2008, 18:39 pm
# Sir Watson: Not sure why you would ever want a nick like that….
25 Nov 2008, 18:40 pm
#506 montyfan: That would be like missing crime if it happened to dissapear….
25 Nov 2008, 18:42 pm
#505 Bagel:
25 Nov 2008, 18:49 pm
Jeez but things are quiet in here…..
25 Nov 2008, 20:14 pm
#509 Jinxie: No front row, no mashed potato.
All our talent will be nullified without a scary front row.
25 Nov 2008, 20:25 pm
#502 Pietman: Piet just saying howzit. Hope you’re well.
25 Nov 2008, 20:29 pm
#512 SodaJoe: Soda, try Hook Norton bitter if the Badger is not to your liking. It will be available in Buckinghamshire!!
25 Nov 2008, 20:33 pm
#9 Sniper: Sniper he is very easily one of teh most talented players anywhere- flyhalf included. Easily as talented as Pienaar as well.
But we need a pair of flyhalves to backup in case of injury. So play Pienaar at starting 10, with Steyn at 15, and then move steyn to 10 in the later stages of the game. You lose nothing, but you must get steyn used to the flyhalf position. He must also do training drills at 10.
“South Africans should take heart from the fact that in time Steyn’s rough edges will be smoothed and he’ll touch the ceiling of his potential. The English are secretly unsure whether Cipriani will reach that level. ” HUH! I have no faith at all that our useless bumbling coaches and selectors wil be able to even select him for his best position, much less smooth the rough edges!! old Capriati will more likely end up being the finished product because he will be managed well.
As an aside, I see Martin Johnson being the English answer to Rudolph Straueli. Being a good player does not make you a good coach!
25 Nov 2008, 20:33 pm
#513 carol: After living in England for 5 years I know I don’t like Bitter. And believe me I did an awful lot of “research”. I do try every now and then to be friendly and affect a Trojan Horse assimiliation, but seriously if the English could improve their food why can’t they make better beer?
No wonder the best British beer company in the world is South African Breweries (HQ now in London) and Scottish & Newcastle has been sold to the Dutch & Danish.
25 Nov 2008, 20:36 pm
#515 SodaJoe: The beer cannot be improved because we like it like that! glad you think the food has improved though.
Have your hosts turned the heating up yet? What have you been up to?
25 Nov 2008, 20:37 pm
#514 SjamBok: Shimmie some interesting comments that I largely agree with.
I am in the UK at the moment – interesting to contrast the ratings given to our players relative to our Keo fraternity – JdV and Jantjes in particular.
Love your comparison to Straueli – who is also not a stupid guy, but terrible coach.
Ruan’s biggest advantage vs Steyn is unpredictability. Both kick, & tackle. Ruan’s quick hands and head up give him more options.
25 Nov 2008, 20:39 pm
#516 carol: Heatings up. Now a sauna. Just hanging out. Having some red wine listening to Elvis – a little less conversation Dutch remix.
25 Nov 2008, 20:42 pm
#518 SodaJoe: The Elvis confusion, Elvis P and not Elvis C then!! A Dutch remix, now you are pulling my leg!
25 Nov 2008, 20:43 pm
#519 carol: Promise. Elvis P. Look it up. For Euro 2001 Finals?
25 Nov 2008, 20:45 pm
#520 SodaJoe: Oh, I know that one then, just didn’t know it was Dutch! Better than the original actually!
Where are you planning to see us get beaten by the All Blacks? Pub or sofa?
25 Nov 2008, 20:48 pm
#521 carol: Sofa. I think England will be better, but will still lose. Not too much in the cupboard to male a difference.
Have to go pick up my friend at the station.
See you through the window.
25 Nov 2008, 20:49 pm
#522 SodaJoe: Enjoy the rest of your trip Soda. See you……….
25 Nov 2008, 20:55 pm
#438 Sonito: The point is, where Steyn is , is exactly where Jantjes was 7 years ago, The is no evidence yet that, Steyn is a better fullback, besides if you want to be technical about this, I’m more than willing to be technical about it.
Just to start, on average, how many times is an international fullback expected to join the line in attack?, to make it easy for you, joining outside 13, 11 or 14?
25 Nov 2008, 20:59 pm
Not neccasarily bad ,no Carol,
its just a question.
25 Nov 2008, 21:23 pm
#525 Duiwel:…… and the question is?
25 Nov 2008, 21:24 pm
It is so quiet I may have to actually do something constructive…………Rats!
25 Nov 2008, 22:30 pm
#524 XhosaKid: I have some different technical questions….
How many up-and-under kicks is a full back supposed to launch per game ?
How scared and unwilling to counter attack should a full back be ?
How tentative should a full back be to join the back line ?
How very predictable should a full back be ?
If the answer is “A LOT” on all those questions….. then Jantjes is your man !!
But, there’s next season, Jantjes can add to his artillery, he can hopefully regain 2008 Super 14 form……..
I can only judge any player on his current form or state of play / mind.
Jantjes is not being singled out… there are other players who need to step up a few gears too….. Pierre Spies….. Jannie du Plessis…. Mujati…… Bekker (according to me)……. Habana….. We simply have not seen the best out of these gentlemen….
26 Nov 2008, 04:48 am
#12 WP Till I Die: A bit of competition is not a bad thing – between Steyn and Pienaar.
I would argue that Steyn is at least as talented as Pienaar for flyhalf. He is physically superior to Pienaar, with more pace, weight and a bigger boot. And he has more of an attacking instinct.
This is both a good thing, because he is driven to win, and a bad thing, because he is so driven to win that he can have brain implosions periodically. Whereas Pienaar you can count on to make a measured, well judged decision. for this reason, Pienaar gets my preference right now.
But this is all mental, and Steyn is young and will mature a bit (while keeping the talent). He must also get game time at 10 as a backup for Pienaar, until he shows that he should be first choice.
It is game time at the highest level that will forge him as one of SA’s most talented flyhalves ever (ditto to Pienaar for that matter).
26 Nov 2008, 04:49 am
#524 XhosaKid: at least as many times as the opposing wing joins the line at the opposite side, and when we can be sure of getting possession and quick ball. I saw JPP doing it a lot last saturday, but no Jantjes.
26 Nov 2008, 04:54 am
As an example of Steyns natural talent, consider this: He was thrown into flyhalf against the AB’s by Jake in Durban last year. He made one little blip, but on average handled pretty well. Any other time that he has come on as flyhalf has been fresh, without any game time in that position, and he has taken to it naturally. Now you have a look at how much the “second coming wunderkind” Cipriani struggled when put against us- and that was after him being consistently played at 10 all season!!
We really have no idea how to handle our players do we?
Perhaps it would be best for Steyn to go to an English club to make the 10 jersey his own, for his own sake. If Rassie or Ludeke had any sense, he would buy him tomorrow and play him at 10 consistently!
26 Nov 2008, 04:56 am
#524 XhosaKid: Steyn has more talent and attacking instinct in his one finger than Jantjes ever did.
26 Nov 2008, 04:58 am
agggeneee Sjambok praat jy met met jouself al weer?
26 Nov 2008, 04:59 am
#533 SjamBok: Nee man, dissie ekke nie!
26 Nov 2008, 04:59 am
#534 SjamBok: dsy lieg!
26 Nov 2008, 17:36 pm
Ryan, the expression is “streets ahead” not “streaks ahead”
4 Dec 2008, 17:14 pm
#27 Robzim: Well said..
Pages: « 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 [11] Show All
Have your say
You must be logged in to post a comment.