Frans finds form at last
12 Sep 2011
JON CARDINELLI says Frans Steyn struck an imposing figure at fullback in Sunday’s win in Wellington and will be a key man for the Springboks in the crunch games.
Gone is the impostor with rugged mane and equally wild, some would say careless, approach to the game. Frans Steyn has undergone a transformation over the past few weeks. He’s shaved the mop of hair and more importantly rediscovered the physical edge, line-kicking accuracy and game-winning attitude that made him such a force at the 2007 World Cup.
When I spoke to former Bok technical advisor Eddie Jones a month ago, he said he was disappointed with Steyn’s progress. In 2007, Jake White and Jones had tipped Steyn to become one of the greats, a once in a generation player. Four years later, Jones lamented Steyn’s defection to France and the negative impact it had had on his game. Jones spoke sadly and without much hope that the kid would rediscover that magic touch.
In the Boks’ biggest game of the 2011 World Cup pool phase, Steyn showed signs that the magic is still there. In the most difficult of conditions, he was the best player under the high ball, and his positional play was outstanding.
He’s clearly lost none of the kicking power in that cannon of a right boot, and for the first time since 2009 showed that he still has the vision and accuracy to translate that power into territorial dominance.
It bodes well for a Bok side hoping to pick up momentum ahead of the play-offs. The Boks will stick to their defensive, kick-oriented approach, and men like Fourie du Preez and Steyn will play key roles in terms of kicking for field position. From there the Boks will look to pressure teams through their intimidating lineout as well as their aggressive loose forwards (read Schalk Burger and fetcher Heinrich Brussow).
The most encouraging thing about Steyn’s display at the Cake Tin was that he did everything with intent. He began the match impressively by bulldozing two Welsh defenders en route to the tryline, and his physicality in the tackle helped the Boks out of some sticky situations in the subsequent 76 minutes. It would be fair to say that he was at the opposite end of the spectrum to his namesake, Morne Steyn, who failed to show the necessary intent, passion and physicality required of an international player.
If Steyn continues to improve in the remaining pool matches he should be somewhere near his best come the knock-out stages. The balance and indeed the potency of the Bok back three will also be aided by new selections, as Bryan Habana and JP Pietersen continue to struggle on the international stage.
After multiple chances, Habana has failed to show the class that made him a world beater in 2007. It’s time to face facts: Form may be temporary, Habana’s slump is not.
Pietersen’s work rate must come into question after another quiet game in Wellington. It’s criminal that Habana and Pietersen continue to be selected when players of the ilk of Francois Hougaard and Gio Aplon are available.
Hougaard lent excitement and penetration to the Bok attack when he was introduced in the second half, and we all know what Aplon is capable of when afforded the space to run. The Boks have already committed to a specific game plan to take them through the tournament, but it can be tweaked to incorporate counter-attacking threats like Hougaard and Aplon.
De Villiers will argue that Habana and Pietersen are doing a good job, but why stick with the average when you have the brilliant at your disposal?
The Boks are too predictable at the moment because all their back three offer is a kick return. Steyn will play a crucial role in this respect, but it’s also important to have some variation and picking Aplon and Hougaard will give the Boks counter-attacking options.
This will in turn keep the opposition honest, as they’re unlikely to kick incessantly on the Bok back-three if there is a danger of a counter-attack.
Some players are performing, some are coasting, and others have been shown to be out of their depth. De Villiers needs to get rid of the dead wood if he wants the Boks to succeed with their chosen template.
42 Comments
12 Sep 2011, 04:55 am
Try scoring dragons!
12 Sep 2011, 04:59 am
We should have known going into the world cup who the coasters, dead wood and brilliant players are. Why doe we need a test match which we should have lost to run this type of post match player analysis.
The good news is we can only get better.
12 Sep 2011, 05:04 am
Deadwood ? Players riding on their reputations – Smit, Spies, du Preez.. Two crucial positions hooker and Scrummie. One thing about Habana is he is always trying. Poor backline coaching not getting the ball to the worlds most potentially dangerous attacking player
12 Sep 2011, 06:13 am
Ironic that the moment he cut his hair he started playing like a real rugby player and not some hippy wannabe Eurotrash.
12 Sep 2011, 06:24 am
He is the best ultra-longrange placekicker on earth and opponents simply have to take his very presence there into account.in executing their gameplans.
12 Sep 2011, 06:26 am
Oh please… in 20 minutes of test rugby before being injured he’s ‘suddenly’ transformed by the next game?
Frans Steyn is simply a damn good player.
12 Sep 2011, 06:34 am
@TheTackler(TheTackler)-5:
His long range touch finders are also not to be sneezed at, tends to take the pressure off a team…
12 Sep 2011, 06:47 am
Our gameplan doesn’t allow for counter-attacking rugby. Slotting Aplon and Hougie in there won’t change that fact. Besides, the last thing you want to do against the Islanders is run them off their feet. And in th knock-out stages, it’d be foolishness to leave over a hundred caps on the wood to play an ‘untested’ pair
12 Sep 2011, 07:04 am
Please JC, stop calling people merely a few years younger than yourself, “The Kid.” It’s demeaning when Keohane does it… it is damn-right insulting when you 15yr-olds do it.
In Fran’s case, he is a WC winner and as such, you should call him “Sir.”
12 Sep 2011, 07:10 am
I will stick with peterson, he didn’t have a bad game. He’s very physical and the opposition kept a close eye on him, but I will drop habana, he’s a shadow of the player he once was. Any truth to rumors that digby broke his thumb and out of WC?
12 Sep 2011, 07:25 am
Pietersen is a liability. He is lethargic and lacks 100% commitment to the task at hand. He has finally proved that he is a provincial player at best.
Same for Habana.
12 Sep 2011, 07:35 am
I agree on Pietersen! also Habana does get ball … the only problem is he drops het 80% of the time! he also couldn’t even judge a easy high ball kicked on him yesterday! Big liability! When last did habana score a try? Hougaard replaces him and scores in 10 mins time?
Steyn
Hougaard
Mossie
JDV
Aplon
Lambie
Du Preez
12 Sep 2011, 08:11 am
Lol! Frans has a beer boep.
We have a quality bench folks. Something we haven’t had in ages!
Pietersen and Habs are quality, they’ll come right soon.
Our guys won’t give away such soft penalties in the next game, some of them really stupid.
12 Sep 2011, 08:28 am
John Smit needs to step up, he is a better player than that fat slow bugger that played on Saturday. Come on Smith, show us why you are most capped captain of all time and bloody play proper rugby!!! I am just waiting for Steyn to kick a 60m 3 pointer, show these other teams they have kick out!
12 Sep 2011, 08:30 am
@BreakdownBoy(goodstuff)-14: No, no, no. John needs to step down.
12 Sep 2011, 08:44 am
Steyn was awesome and to add to his performance I had some loot on him scoring first!
Overall assessment now that my heart rate has dropped:
1. we won – this is touranment rugby you need to win the margins mean nothing
2. we smashed England 36-0 last WC and met them in the final – point there is a huge amount fo rugby to be played here.
3. for the first time in years the bench actually had a positive outcome on the game
4. we have the best hooker in the world and he will always play. Having as an impact player is a luxury.Smit needs to start he is a great captain – give him credit
5. Frans Steyn is a the player with BMT and he will inspire
6. surely the coaching staff now know who is up to this and who is not – no names here but at least we know this now and don’t work it out in the knock out stages
7. of all the top 5 nations we had the hardest draw and came out with a win
8. Every game in Pool D will yield close results – it is the hardest group. Remember England lost 36-0 last WC and still met the Boks in the final.
Bokke to go all the way.
12 Sep 2011, 09:01 am
@kesbok(kesbok)-16: I’m sorry but I can’t agree with the John Smit being a great captain bit. The team seemed clueless (just like in 2010) when he was on. Leadership/experience is one thing and urgency/talent/go forward another. From Saturday’s game I’d say the urgency/talent and go forward helped us scrape through
We cannot keep on playing hoping that just experience and leadership will do, when we have no go forward ball, especially in the forwards.
12 Sep 2011, 09:03 am
well done frans…
great game!!
12 Sep 2011, 09:09 am
good game fransie, great kicking.
just try and improve your linking with your fellow outside backs to maximise the team’s counter-attacking ability, hougaard is a firecracker, we need to light that fuse.
12 Sep 2011, 09:15 am
He impressed.
Amazing what a hair cut can do.
12 Sep 2011, 09:17 am
Have been one of his staunchest critics/detractors for a while now but I have to say he had a very good game on the weekend.Not his biggest fan as many know & while one swallow doesnt make a summer-he was very effective in what he did vs Wales.Hope he continues to impress.Fact of the matter is he HAS to return to the SH sooner rather than later.His erratic conditioning and form does have a lot to do with the standard of rugby in France/Europe.
well played Frans Steyn.
12 Sep 2011, 09:25 am
1.Guthro 2.Bismark 3.Jannie 4.Bakkies 5.Matfield 6.Brussow 7.Burger 8.Alberts
9.du Preez 10.Morne 11.Hougaard 12.de Jongh 13.Fourie 14.JPP 15.F.Steyn
16.Chilli 17.Beast 18.CJ 19.Rossouw 20.Spies 21.Lambie 22.Habana/Aplon
OR
16.Chilli 17.CJ 18.Rossouw 19.Spies 20.Lambie 21.Habana 22.Aplon
12 Sep 2011, 09:43 am
Is it just me, or did the gameplan seem different against Wales? To me it seemed as if the Boks had abandoned their kicking game, almost as if they were trying to prove they don’t kick as much as everyone keeps saying they do.
There’s a big difference between kicking away possession and tactical kicking and I saw neither on Sunday!
12 Sep 2011, 09:46 am
Cardinelli is exactly right. We need the threat on counterattack that Aplon and Hougaard provide. Habana could too – but his game has become so tense and joyless that he doesn’t allow himself that freedom.
12 Sep 2011, 09:50 am
@motomouse(motomouse)-23: no it wasn’t different, last year against england they played the same “ball-in-hand direct” gameplan, and it works for them if the 1. theyclean out the rucks efficiently, 2. the referee keep the opposition honest at the breakdown.
you earn the right to go wide or punch holes through fractured defensive patterns.
12 Sep 2011, 10:09 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-25:
Seems to me that the Nienaber defensive pattern relies on committing as few people to the rucks as possible, to free up more defenders. Therefore, there are always more defenders than attackers. However, this is problematic on attack as there are more people in the line than needs to be – choking off space for the strike runners.
12 Sep 2011, 10:39 am
Frans Steyn did not f uckup as much as he usually does and and he gets an 8 out 10 rating by the twats. I see the ratings of Keo and Pals are similar to Standard and Poor.. PR bullshit with a political agenda to sell twatism.
The useless fk (FS) fumbled his way into a bit of respectability and the p ussies get all excited. The king still has no clothes..
12 Sep 2011, 10:49 am
The difference between FS’s 8/10 and completely kak was probably one inch or less.. The unsuccessfull Flood penalty was a matter of opinion and had Wales won, just about every player would have been beyond kak.
12 Sep 2011, 11:02 am
ive been saying it for more than a year now – Habana is a liability – the little head shake, the falling over people with feet in the air, the tearing of fhis line for the intercept and leaving his channel exposed, He´s so desperate to break his stupid little record. He is a has been. I think he´s had quite enough time to find his form and his continual selection has done nothing but keep him eating his ribs and chops and happily tweeting away because he thinks hes flpping indespensable. And people wonder why he got booed off the field. A man who has no respect for the team deserves it.
12 Sep 2011, 11:03 am
@youknowwho(youknowwho)-27: pi55 off you moron – people like you sour the world for everybodya nd everythying. youre the biggest k u n t on Keo.
12 Sep 2011, 11:25 am
@Slumtown(Slumtown)-30: Did that make you feel better
Did the shoe fit… Take the iamapussy badge on the way out
12 Sep 2011, 12:04 pm
Frans Steyn has never had a bad game at fullback for SA – he would be one of the greats already if the coaches hadn’t mismanaged his positions so badly – on his first tour to the North when he was 19 he showed blinding talent in the fullback position … why didn’t they just lock him in there and cultivate him to genius?
12 Sep 2011, 12:13 pm
@youknowwho(youknowwho)-31: It must grind at you that the Springboks won this game, eh?
12 Sep 2011, 13:06 pm
@Slumtown(Slumtown)-30: Ignore this little pissdribble. he doesn’t even know that Flood plays for England.
12 Sep 2011, 14:47 pm
@stormer in a teacup(stormer in a teacup)-34: lol too true. Too busy admiring himself in the mirror and telling himself how wonderful he is and how much more important than everyone else he is. Pathetic excuse for a person. Obviously Aplon would just be so much better than Frans. We all know why. Crikey. In stead of Houghaard why dont we keep Habana and JP on the field and Aplon at fullback just to appease our man here. De Jongh at 13, Adi Jacobs at 12, Ricky Januarie at 9 and Jantjes at 10. Ok – satisfied now. There no white player left in the backline. Since when did you know anything about rugby anyway Shaun?
12 Sep 2011, 15:40 pm
@Bouts(Bouts)-33: LOL
@stormer in a teacup(stormer in a teacup)-34: LMAO
12 Sep 2011, 16:00 pm
Yeah well done Frans …. its been hard shouting to keep you in the team, but this game made it all worth it. Looking forward to some more of your talent.
12 Sep 2011, 16:39 pm
Team for Fiji:
1 Steenkamp
2 Du Plessis
3 Du Plessis
4 Roussouw
5 Muller
6 Brussouw
7 Burger
8 Alberts
9 Du Preez
10 James
11 Hougaard
12 De Jongh
13 Fourie
14 Aplon
15 Steyn
16 Van Der Linde
17 Smit
18 mTwarira
19 Louw
20 Spies
21 Pienaar
22 Lambie
Early substitution for Jannie and Brussouw and Roussouw.
Alberts moves to 2nd row when Louw and Spies comes on.
Smit get can 5 minutes at the end.
Others as needed.
12 Sep 2011, 17:56 pm
Ok, So you are saying one good game against Wales after a couple of bad ones is what is called finding form?
12 Sep 2011, 21:28 pm
@Lions_Soutie(Lions_Soutie)-13: Our bench will win us this WC. Mark my words.
Especially Bismarck, Alberts and Hougaard.
Closely followed by Steenkamp (if a 5-2 split).
And I would still find a place for Lambie and De Jongh somewhere.
12 Sep 2011, 21:33 pm
@YoMama(YoMama)-38: I would seriously consider
1-Beast
2-Bismarck
3-Jannie
4-Mostert
5-Muller
6-Brussow
7-Alberts
8-Burger
9-FDP
10-Lambie
11-Habana
12-De Jongh
13-Fourie
14-JPP
15-F.Steyn
Bench: Steenkamp, Smit, CJ, Rossouw, Louw, M.Steyn, Hougaard
13 Sep 2011, 00:03 am
Frans and JPP senior-ed at the same time. Steyn has improved. Pietersen – apart from getting more involved in the tight-loose – has not. He has no balls for a decent tackle. His play-play defense against Shane Williams on Sat nearly cost a probably match-winning try. What is he doing here?
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