Last chance for Morné to shine
17 Aug 2011
Morné Steyn is determined to show Peter de Villiers that he’s more than an excellent goal-kicker when he starts against the All Blacks this weekend.
Butch James will wear the No 10 jersey at the World Cup in New Zealand, but De Villiers still wants Steyn to get a start before the global tournament kicks off in three weeks time. De Villiers told the media on Tuesday that Steyn deserves an opportunity to start alongside the other first-choice players, and is hoping the Bulls’ flyhalf replicates the form that made him so valuable in 2009.
Steyn has battled to impose himself in the subsequent two seasons at Test and Super Rugby level. Many feel that the absence of Du Preez has exposed his limitations while the absence of a solid forward platform has also highlighted his weaknesses on attack and defence.
The most recent performances in Australasia served to underline his shortcomings and furthered the cause of an all-round flyhalf like James. But in this the final fixture before the World Cup, the Bok coach has given Steyn an opportunity, an opportunity he doesn’t intend to waste.
‘I must lift my game,’ Steyn said. ‘It hasn’t gone well in recent matches, but I’m glad to now have senior guys like Fourie du Preez on my inside and Jean de Villiers on my outside. Hopefully that will make things easier.
‘There are many areas of my game that I want to improve. My kicking game has not been up to standard. I slipped some tackles overseas as well. My attacking game could improve a bit, I must vary my play more on attack, in other words decide when to play flat, deep or kick the ball. Hopefully I can find some form this weekend.’
On Tuesday, De Villiers explained Steyn’s selection and then proceeded to talk about the value of an accurate goal-kicker at a World Cup tournament. James is no slouch in front of goal and the Boks have a useful alternative in Frans Steyn, but De Villiers will never forget the match-winning feats of Morné Steyn in the 2009 British & Irish Lions series and subsequent Tri-Nations. It was the boot of Steyn that effectively kept De Villiers in the job.
De Villiers will be hoping that Steyn furthers his cause for World Cup inclusion this weekend. He will want Steyn to show that he can hold his own in general play, as while Steyn has served the Boks in the past, the team can no longer afford to field a weak defender or one-dimensional attacking player at No 10.
The player himself spoke confidently about the challenge ahead. The All Blacks have left eight first-choice players in New Zealand, but there are still a number of attacking threats in the touring party.
‘They’re bringing a guy like Sonny Bill Williams here and Richard Kahui is an awesome player,’ said Steyn. ‘They’re calling it a B side but no All Blacks side is easy to beat.
‘I do have some good memories of playing against the All Blacks. I scored all 31 points when we beat them in Durban [in 2009], and I do remember these kinds of things ahead of a big game, it gives me confidence.
‘The win is important but we really want to improve on certain things. On tour we were shocking, and while we were a bit better last week we still didn’t get the win. We will be looking to fix a few things and get our own game right.’
By Jon Cardinelli, in Port Elizabeth
128 Comments
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17 Aug 2011, 08:13 am
Morne is more suited to the type of 10 needed in big world cup games. If he can only lift his defensive game, he’ll be our best bet.
Alternatively, if Butch can imporve his kicking game and dicipline, we stand an equally good chance.
The perfect 10 for SA lies somewhere between these 2 players.
17 Aug 2011, 08:13 am
I dont think Morne will be better with Fourie du Preez next to him. DuPreez is not the same scrummie as 2 years ago. In fact i dont rate him at all at the moment. Head up all the time too busy chirping refs **** passing, bad decision making. He is the up and under king whose game play was used extensively 2 years ago. Other teams have worked it out now, yet we fail to change tactics. he reminds me of slap chips
17 Aug 2011, 08:15 am
answer by Makou to a question on the reason why they lost 2 S14 semis to the Bulls.
He replied….. Mornê Steyn.
But hell thats history as they say – we are now in 2011 and he is not on form. Hope he gets back to his best and i hope we change the gameplan from the coaching side.. cause weare getting klapped.
17 Aug 2011, 08:15 am
@grant10(grant10)-47:
@grant10(grant10)-48:
fortunately for us, your questions and mine will be answered on saturday.
17 Aug 2011, 08:15 am
Frans Steyn Lambie both are also still in the background…. so I don’t think we need to worry too much about depth at 10
17 Aug 2011, 08:16 am
Is Ruan Pienaar still in the squad?
17 Aug 2011, 08:17 am
@we have it on good authority that on september 11, a legend will rise…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-45:
What Steyn has done in 2009, is irrelevant. The rules have changed, our opposition’s tactics and playing personnel have changed as well. It’s been two years since the Durban 2009 test, and Morne hasn’t even threatened to produce a similar display to that one. All we have seen from him is skop,jag,drop goal and miss 5 tackles per match.
17 Aug 2011, 08:25 am
The problem is that a few weeks out from the World Cup and we still have not settled on a first team, and at no point have our first team played together as a unit. It’s pathetic.
17 Aug 2011, 08:28 am
I worry that the AB’s are going to attack Steyn’s defensive channel and with SBW there, it could be carnage! Butch would have been a far better option for this particualr occassion. To let Butch have a go at SBW could have been good from a psychological point of view. SBW is gaining in confidence all the time because nobody has contained him yet, not even JdV. I also believe that the bulk that Frans Steyn has put on would be a better defensive option against the AB centres come the world cup.
17 Aug 2011, 08:30 am
@garth(garth)-58:
Garth, aren’t you just a ray of sunshine this morning?!!
I think, with the exception of 2 or 3 positions, we know what our best team is.
Loose forwards are still up for grabs and we are spoilt with depth at 10, but otherwise we have a settled 1st 15
17 Aug 2011, 08:30 am
Horses for courses – I’d play Butch at 12 against SBW
17 Aug 2011, 08:32 am
@Helen(Helen)-55:
and thats exactly where they’ll stay…in the background…
@Helen(Helen)-51:
agreed. it will just come down to either a stroke of luck or a stroke of genius (the two are interchangeable) on the part of the ‘coaches’ in regard to which one of the two is chosen to start for the three big matches. this will determine our succes or failure.
off the bench for either wont be as important, but, having said that morne did win us some big games off the bench.
17 Aug 2011, 08:34 am
@garth(garth)-58: amen again….
17 Aug 2011, 08:35 am
@Maljan(Maljan)-59: great post mate
17 Aug 2011, 08:36 am
@Helen(Helen)-60: who is our 1 ?
15 ?
17 Aug 2011, 08:37 am
Best 15 (with subs in brackets)
15) F Steyn
14) JPP
11) Habana
13) J Fourie
12) J D Vil (Juan d J)
10) Butch (Lambie – 60mins)
9) F Du Preez (Hougaard – 60mins)
8) Spies
7) Alberts
6) Burger (Brussouw – 40 mins)
5) Vic
4) Bakkies (Russouw – 40mins)
3) Guthro
2) Bismark (Smit – 60mins)
1) Jannie (Beast – 60mins)
17 Aug 2011, 08:41 am
@The Bok Identity(The Bok Identity)-57:
yes, but…have OUR tactics changed?…have OUR personnel changed?…
are you suggesting only morne has stayed behind in this regard?
you fit the fh to the team or you fit the team to the fh….in this regard butch is the same but played kak on saturday…perhaps morne will play better…
this is the game the springboks play, whether it be by choice or otherwise on the part of the coaches, the selectors, the players and so on…yet you blame it (for being so and not being successfull at the moment) on a single player?….
17 Aug 2011, 08:43 am
@Helen(Helen)-66:
frans steyn is 15 and a half…
17 Aug 2011, 08:47 am
@we have it on good authority that on september 11, a legend will rise…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-68:
you forgot the lard…
17 Aug 2011, 08:54 am
as with the comments i made about the cheese griller i can honestly say that for Frans Steyn to get that fat is an indication to me that he is undisciplined. I also said it about Barney.
There is no place in Rugby and really for 99% of sport for fat oakes!
Fat oakes must sumo…finnish en klaar… thats the 1% if you call that sport.
You wanna play rugby – get yourself in shape…
imo.. it’s friggen disgusting to think you can be at your best with all that fat drilling as you “try” to run…
no wonder his hammy went…
17 Aug 2011, 08:55 am
The problem doesn’t lie in the tactics or the game plan that we choose to play. In the end it’s the players who have to implement that game plan on the field and how well they do that determines the result. England’s World Cup success was based around a kicking game.
I don’t buy into people saying that the game has changed and we need to adapt to the new rules, etc. Test match rugby has been around for hundreds of years, and to me, not much has changed.
I recall a stat during the Super 14 that Quade Cooper was the flyhalf who kicked the most out of hand during the tournament. Most of those kicks were offensive and hardly any were wasted.
I just feel that our kicking game at the moment is k@k and more of a kick and hope than anything else.
17 Aug 2011, 08:56 am
@Big Hit(Big Hit)-38: Wales creamed your boys @ the breakdown, completely outplayed you last weekend.
17 Aug 2011, 08:57 am
@Staal(Staal)-70: ek stem saam! dikgatte se moer man!
17 Aug 2011, 09:02 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-73:
17 Aug 2011, 09:05 am
@Staal(Staal)-70:
i dont know if he’s disrespecting the french or if the french were disrespecting him…but he sure does look like saartjie baartman from the tummy down at the moment.
shocking really…
17 Aug 2011, 09:08 am
@we have it on good authority that on september 11, a legend will rise…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-75: LMAO!
17 Aug 2011, 09:12 am
@Helen(Helen)-66:
Not a bad team but you must change your 1 and 3 around.
Jannie is a tighthead prop (no. 3) and Guthro is a loosehead prop (no.1).
There is a huge difference in the positions.
To add to your team I would with out a doubt add Juan Smith, he is in my opinion one of the best in the world and cannot be left out of any team.
17 Aug 2011, 09:29 am
@iceman(iceman)-77:
i know, i wanted to point it out but gave her the benefit of the doubt at first (could be a typo) but then i just gave up when i saw butch bracketed with lambie and not morne (thats never going to happen so why not base your team picks in reality, considering). as well a ? around jdj, but not such a big one.
also would have juan in there, fitness withstanding.
17 Aug 2011, 10:00 am
Well, one thing is for sure.
Morne can’t stand any deeper than the butcher did on saturday.
And he certainly couldn’t be less creative either.
17 Aug 2011, 10:08 am
@Helen(Helen)-66: if you want to be taken seriously? atleast get to know the rugby positions etc?
NO1 is a loosehead prop, you have Jannie there as a Tighthead prop,
NO3 TH you have Guthro there , he is a Loosehead Prop
Beast is only a LH prop has never ever played TH
17 Aug 2011, 10:13 am
South Africa has problem at
Fullback-Steyn
Left Wing-Habana
Inside Centre-De Villiers
Flyhalf_Morne/Butch
Scrumhalf-Du Preez
Eighthman-Spies
All the above havent been in any kind of form for the past 6-8months and some even longer. And many of those are slow starters and need significant ganetime to get into rhythm/form…Added to the fact that combinations are yet truly to be settled.
Their backups while talented are very green in many of those positions eg: Lambie,Aplon,Mvovo,Hougaard,de Jongh….
I would love to see the above play and make a difference but the youngsters can be put in firing line,its unfair on them.Youthful exuberance is great but it can only take you so far and mixture/blend with experience is key.
Boks can take any side in the world,I dont fear the Wallabies nor the NH sides<Boks push come to shove will beat those teams in RWC….BUT the All Blacks will beat us…of that I have no doubt-they are an experience side with an experienced coaching staff and leadership core knows failure thus wont fall to same mistakes happen.
Scary thing is this AB team doesnt have to play at a 100 miles an hour and score tries to beat you…because there are factor that can impede that from execution..now they can slow games down,look after the ball and grind out wins.Thats the difference.
Only weakness is if carter goes down or if he goes awol with the boot.They dont have a reputable international class kicker in squad-(Weepu/Slade)…But form the last WC-the pack is infinitely better,add to that they are playing at home(hardly lose) and kept leadership core from 07 WC-Mealamu/Woodcock/Thorn/Williams/McCaw/Carter/Mils….
17 Aug 2011, 10:37 am
@mshiniwami(mshiniwami)-81:
Agreed on most points as per norm… however test rugby is a 22man 85min rugby… you’re discounting how ineffective Boks benches are in comparison to their NZ/Aus counter-parts and their coach’s capabilities of using them.
You can add TH to that list with that in mind… and whilst your singling out the above has merit… there is only one reason they have not had any game-time, are lacking in combo’s and cohesion, conditioning is woeful as is match-fitness… and that applies to the total lack of cohesion at the break-down too… i.e. the brains-trust!
17 Aug 2011, 10:42 am
@NZINCHINA(NZINCHINA)-19:
it would simply be wrong to repeat Cabs faithful dogma here without adding reference to the genius of “the Wee Maestro”.
Which is merely Cabs way of letting us know that, in defeat, he can say it was always ‘tongue in cheek’ and that, should Victory strike twice on the Lotto tree, that he can tell us he “told you so” all along.
17 Aug 2011, 11:00 am
It’s really FAR too late in the day to be wondering about who is your number one go-to flyhalf with RWC now only a few weeks away.
17 Aug 2011, 11:12 am
morne steyn
to rip
dan carter
a new one
and
these
green bits
that take you
to nam
breweries
if you dare
touch them
is farkin
irritating
no more
windhoek
for me
17 Aug 2011, 11:17 am
The problem is that Butch does not have much of a kicking game either. Morne in 2009 had a good kicking game, BUT our lineout caused the ABs all sorts of problems and the rules favoured the defending team.
Choosing a kicking flyhalf could work if:
- you can steal lineouts, or at least put a load of pressure on the receiving halfback/flyhalf
- can shutdown counter attacks and gain field possession to apply pressure and force mistakes
Dan Carter is good on attack and with his kicking game, plus he has an inside centre outside of him who can create space for the other backs. We don’t have any of those and Lambie is a great talent, but not mature enough to fill that role yet. Ebersohn is probably the closest to a DC mold in SA currently.
I think given the limited players we have, that we work around that, so:
- skip 1st channel every now and then, and
- use the blind side more often
But then again we have **** as our backline coach …
17 Aug 2011, 11:20 am
@pakslae(pakslae)-71: Agreed, I don’t think kicking is out of the game, however the kicks need to be accurate, so:
- the kicks need to limit the time, space and angles if not kicked out, so that can shutdown space and force mistakes
- we need to be able to put pressure on their lineouts
From what I’ve seen our lineouts have come under more attack than either the ABs or Wallabies in the last 2 years
17 Aug 2011, 11:25 am
I think this is kind of a step backwards, but I suppose you have to give both a fair run…
Is Morne a RWC winning 10? he has the kicking game but what else?
Butch is a RWC 10, but he didnt have to goal kick, and he’s inconsistent at best… Tough call
17 Aug 2011, 11:33 am
@bryce_in_oz(bryce_in_oz)-82:
Fair enough but mate barring Higginbotham-the Ozzie bench has done nothing to “change games”,in Oz they game went more to Boks when subs came on and in Durban Boks dominated majority of the game and tempo.The change of Smit to 3 is was killed momentum. Likes of Faingaa brothers,Burgess/Phibbs,Samo,Hanson,Maafu,Pek Cowan,Timani, Beau Robinaon etc off the bench didnt up tempo on change much.Smit bonehead TH move was what killed game-and yes that lies on “brains trust”.Higginbotham is only real “supersub” otherwise Oz is avg of the wood.
After 8 weeks without rugby and no cohesiveness the Boks upfront owned OZ,owned the momentum but failed to convert.For that they have themselves to blame,butchered try scoring opportunities at will.Oz got one chance and converted and they should having played with same team for 4 weeks or so.They are a good team but dont fear them nor their bench in least bit.After 5 games entering knockout stage in RWC-i would back Boks everyday of the week and twice on a Sunday to take Oz in knockout game.
But that just my opinion.
17 Aug 2011, 11:56 am
@mshiniwami(mshiniwami)-89: Also not taking easy shots at goal to keep the scoreboard moving, was wrong, I got the impression that things were happening too easy for the Boks in the opening minutes that they took things for granted.
17 Aug 2011, 12:07 pm
@mshiniwami(mshiniwami)-89:
Fair enough but they have now beaten you 5 times from the last 6 tests, at what point will you fear them 9 losses from 10?
17 Aug 2011, 14:13 pm
What’s this nonsense about Steyn having got fat (70. Staal). If he is considered fat, I’d be fat anyday!! He has bulked up and imo hasn’t compromised his speed. Did you see his try-saving tackle on Sat, I think it was just before half-time? He came from nowhere after having made a tackle a few seconds before that. Don’t let his locks and bulk fool you into believeing he’s fat. Hell guys, get a grip. The Bok conditioning coaches would not consider him if he was fat to the point of compromising the team, surely!
17 Aug 2011, 14:15 pm
from one test after a very long injury lay off and people are bad mouthing Fourie du Preez’s class? same thing was being done to Matfield and look how well he played Saturday. Spies was the best forward on the day and how many people thought he should be dropped? i agree that Du Preez will aid Morne’s game on Saturday. just like Jean and Jacque and Bakkies and Victor play well together. Du Preez and Morne are a combination at club level so they know each other. looking forward to this game. NZ backline looks likely to be 9. Weepu, 10. Slade, 11. Jane/Guildford, 12. SBW, 13. Kahui, 14. Gear, 15. Dagg…talented but we have to beat them! no excuses!
17 Aug 2011, 14:21 pm
@we have it on good authority that on september 11, a legend will rise…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-75: Did you not think the scrum cap he wore accentuated his fatness even more?
17 Aug 2011, 14:28 pm
@Maljan(Maljan)-92: No my friend, I distinctly remember seeing steyn crouched under the poles and his jaw was moving vigorously, for a moment I thought he was snacking on some overgrowth but gave him the benefit of the doubt. However, the clincher was when he followed the garryowen, and every living sole saw that hammie coming!
17 Aug 2011, 14:29 pm
@TheTackler(TheTackler)-84:
It is far more dangerous relying on only one flyhalf to see the team through to the finishing line…
17 Aug 2011, 14:50 pm
morne steyn is the best we have at the moment and if we have any chance we need to pray that he hits his best form.
people too quickly forget that steyn has championed the bulls at flyhalf to superrugby wins in a tournament where attacking rugby and bonus points are of more importance than defence.
so,basically, to say that morne isn’t an attacking flyhalf…is laughably stupid in my opinion.
personally, I think 12 and 15 are our biggest concerns, albeit 15 could go better with lambie,theoretically.
12,jean de villiers…might well be a defensive lynchpin, but he can’t pass for ****. Only slightly better than dejong…who’s never ever even attempted a pass.
17 Aug 2011, 14:53 pm
@NZINCHINA(NZINCHINA)-91:
France have beaten NZ:
3 ot of 3 at the World Cup
-99 WC semi
-03 WC 3rd place playoff
-07 WC quarter final
Will you fear them at WC? Or will it only happen at 4-0??
Ditto.
17 Aug 2011, 14:56 pm
@mshiniwami(mshiniwami)-98:
Glad to see you don’t count the 1987 tournament where NZ did in fact beat them in the final.
Cause that was not a World Cup.
17 Aug 2011, 14:58 pm
@mshiniwami(mshiniwami)-98:
No because that was 4 years ago, the Aussies have RECENTLY beaten you 5 out of the last 6 tests big difference mate and if you can’t see that you are reading from the same page as PDV. At some stage you are going to need to face the facts that are staring you right in the face.
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