Steyn’s the man for Meyer
27 Feb 2012
RYAN VREDE says there is no reason to believe that Heyneke Meyer will look beyond Morne Steyn as his flyhalf for the Springboks.
At his unveiling as Springboks coach in January, Heyneke Meyer spoke about giving every player a fair opportunity to state his case for selection. There would be no preconceived ideas about players, he said. Every player would have an equal opportunity of advancing their cause.
Meyer’s integrity is sound and there is no reason to doubt the authenticity of that offering. However, through conversations with him it is apparent that he has an acute sense of the weight of expectation. This sense will heighten as his first on-field assignment, a three-Test series against England in June, draws closer.
Meyer has been portrayed as the saviour of the Springboks. But he is like every coach that has preceded him, who, in the high-pressure results-driven environment, will back players he trusts and knows and who fit into his game plan.
Steyn is at the head of that queue and with his performance against the Sharks in Pretoria on Friday he exhibited why, barring injury or stupendous form from one of the other South African flyhalves, he will be the incumbent No 10 for the England series.
With just over a week to prepare his players for their first Test Meyer will not gamble by experimenting with an untested game plan or an unfamiliar pivot. The Bulls showed just how difficult it is to counter their pattern if they are accurate in execution. Central to its success is the timing, weight and placement of up-and-unders and the accuracy of tactical punts into space and touch.
At present there is no player to match Steyn in these disciplines, while he is one of the pre-eminent goal kickers on the planet. Youngsters Pat Lambie and Elton Jantjies are undoubtedly gifted, but their franchise coaches have very different rugby philosophies to Meyer and this is manifested in the manner they are asked to play.
Given more time under Meyer’s mentorship both could be engineered into the type of flyhalf he prefers. Indeed they have the potential to offer him more than Steyn can because of their natural feel for the game and broader attacking arsenal.
However, Steyn’s presence and potency is crucial but not imperative for the Springboks. For the Bulls he is the fulcrum and any prolonged absence would almost certainly render them significantly less threatening opponents. Both Louis Fouche and Lionel Cronje, the Bulls’ deputy pivots, are far more adept at running the ball than they are at kicking it.
Furthermore, any injury to Steyn would have been softened if they had a scrumhalf with a high-quality kicking game. But Francois Hougaard’s extensive repertoire does not include kicking of the standard required in the context of this argument.
Don’t be surprised if Steyn plays all of the Bulls’ matches this season. Such is his importance to them.
Follow Ryan on Twitter
Follow SA Rugby magazine on Twitter
115 Comments
Pages: [1] 2 3 » Show All
27 Feb 2012, 07:32 am
The pressure is indeed on!
A leading captaincy candidate for Meyer’s team has just torn knee ligaments.
And a player tipped to be a shooting star and surely a candidate for the Bok 22 is now out with a shoulder injury before playing a single full S15 game for the Bulls.
Meyer would have wanted to see more of Burger and Sadie in the games leading up yo the England tests, no doubt.
I wouldn’t be surprised if he now does look to Japan to lure back both Fourie Du Preez (captain) and Jacques Fourie (13) for the war against the Roses.
27 Feb 2012, 07:34 am
nothing wrong with whats been said here, very reasonable.
perhaps maintain the honesty going forward and call it as it is in sa rugby and not how you guys want it to be. yes, by this i mean your silly shenanigans with butch and more.
27 Feb 2012, 07:34 am
Meyer, hoever, can be bouyed by the performances of the local second-rowers in the wake of Matfield’s retirement and the departure of Botha, Rossouw and Mostert.
One wonders whether he will look to the likes of Bekker, Van Der Merwe, Kruger, Etsebeth and Elstadt first up, or whether he will bring back some of the old guard to play against the Brits?
I have a feeling he will give Bakkies a final swansong, considering the manner in which Bakkies had to bow out of the world cup…
27 Feb 2012, 07:50 am
I would say that Steyn is under pressure, to keep his place in the team. Kick and chase rugby had been exposed at test level and the top teams will gobble up kicked away posession and punish Meyer if he believes that kick and chase will do.
Now Vrede is changing his story over here. First the story went that Steyn was needed because he was an 80% kicker and could not be dropped, despite his deficiencies in other aspects of play – well Goosen and Jantjies are also 80% kickers and more complete players than Steyn will ever be.
This is a problem for Vrede and predictably he goes for the Bulls angle of Steyn being able to play Bulls rugby – the safe bet blah blah blah. Rubbish Vrede! Meyer has to drop this kicking mule and go for a complete flyhalf that can take the Boks forward. Your campaign to make die Bulle almal Bokke is sickening but transparent.
Meyer wanted to bring running rugby to the Bulls because he knew that kick and chase was dead – he was shaking his head after Ludeke chickened out of the ball in hand approach on Friday. Let’s just hope that Meyer follows through on his promise to run it.
27 Feb 2012, 08:02 am
Good morning all.
Must honestly say that we can’t keep giving possession away to the Ab’s & Wallas. So if we can’t be 90% sure of retaining the kicked ball we should not kick it. Finnish en klaar.
With Bekker in the line-outs we will be very competitive but still we need to stretch them on the park for 80min.
We must give more attention to our attacks with first phase ball. We must be more innovative.
imo..
27 Feb 2012, 08:12 am
I cannot see the point of kicking away possession to gain 30 metres and a 1/10 chance of regaining the ball. Do this 15 times in a game and you have just lost. If this is really how Meyer feels, he is definitely the wrong man for the job. The kick and chase worked for one season at test level before it was worked out. Last year it did not win the S15 and caused us to see our gat at the 3N. For sure the Bulls just beat the Sharks playing in this dumb manner, but it was the 1st game of the season and I suspect any team to put them away from about the 3rd week on if they continue wit it.
27 Feb 2012, 08:18 am
@RL(RL)-4: I agree with what you say , the kick and chase did work against weak opposition like the Sharks , but I wonder if it will work against stronger opposition
27 Feb 2012, 08:19 am
@capebull(capebull)-7:
“weak opposition like the Sharks”
You’ll be getting it any second now…
27 Feb 2012, 08:20 am
@garth(garth)-6: Right a dumb team like Sharks could not figure this out…
I thought the Bulls are playing like this for last 5 years ?
You recon teams will notice this after 3 weeks ?
27 Feb 2012, 08:22 am
@Taahirah(Taahirah)-8: I am just repeating what RL and garth are saying…
If you are playing dumb rugby for last 5 years,and you are winning , how dumb must the opposition be ?
27 Feb 2012, 08:25 am
@Taahirah(Taahirah)-8:
@capebull(capebull)-9:
27 Feb 2012, 08:25 am
@capebull(capebull)-9: @capebull(capebull)-10:
Agree 100%
One thing to see it coming, that’s the easy part.
Now you need to counter it effectively.
Good luck with that.
Yes, Morne’s gonna kick the ball, allowing Basson to chase and compete. Do you have the aerial skills to compete with Basson? If not, gonna be a long day at the office…
27 Feb 2012, 08:29 am
@Taahirah(Taahirah)-12: I think Tukkies has the right balance with this game plan , they mix it with running as well. The blame must go to the laws , Meyer studied the new laws and found this to be the best way to play the new laws. Change new laws and you will see a new game.
27 Feb 2012, 08:36 am
I blame the Broederbond.
27 Feb 2012, 08:51 am
Shouldn’t the headline read ‘Steyn the man for Vrede’? Just seems as Vrede’s opinion.
27 Feb 2012, 08:52 am
ryan, how short is your memory? remember eoyt 2009 vs Ireland where the same morne & FdP skopped us to a loss?
the only positive to come out of friday’s match it the fact that ludeke recognised quickly that he was up ****’s creek without a paddle and reverted to the old way.
as for morne, against the poms this tired strategy might wrok BUT let him try that rubbish of kicking away possession against cory jane, richard kahui & israel dagg, i guarantee you we will see our arses!
we might’ve scraped through in PE when GH was still fiddling with his team playing hosea gear, toeava and dagg (who was returning from injury) but our saving grace that day was the Boks’ scrambling defence after we were cut to shreds with the ABs making line breaks at will.
27 Feb 2012, 09:06 am
Steyn was always going to be the safe bet.
If i were to pick a Bok team now or at any time in the past 2 years, Steyn would be my 10.
If a guy like Elton is the next up and coming player then play him off the bench by all means, he needs to start getting exposure, and he’ll be ready in time.
But for now it’s Morne
27 Feb 2012, 09:21 am
@RL(RL)-4:
I hate to admit it but the Boks should base their attacking play on the Lions blue print.
The ball carrier is at all times shadowed by support runners with objective primarily being to keep the ball “alive” at all times.
The other objective/mindset is NOT to pass to your team mate for the sake of spreading the ball around the park but to pass were the SPACE is.
Meyer should put “Skop and Jag” in a tik pyp and smoke it.
27 Feb 2012, 09:25 am
1 game into the season and we are already thinking skop en jag….jah ne
27 Feb 2012, 09:27 am
@stormersboy(stormersboy)-17: if morne is the man, fine but it can’t be ONLY for doing skop and jag!
when teams cotton on to that plan, the what else does morne offer?
27 Feb 2012, 09:31 am
@Jeraldjay(Jeraldjay)-18: Interesting that the Lions had to win the game on Saturday with ……. wait for it , …….9 kicks…..
27 Feb 2012, 09:33 am
Ryan – you omitted Johan Goosen.. You speak of Pat Lambie and Elton Jantjies – neither are in Goosen’s class as the complete flyhalf…
Goosen will become our greatest flyhalf ever – for the first time we have a flyhalf in the Jonny Wilkinson/ Dan Carter mould – brilliant at the kicking AND running/passing/distributing game!
My Bok backline: 15) Pat Lambie, 14) JP Pietersen, 13) Jacque Fourie, 12) Frans Steyn, 11) Gio Aplon, 10) Johan Goosen, 9) Fourie du Preez..
Backline bench: Francois Hougaard, Morne Steyn, Juan de Jongh, Bryan Habana.
27 Feb 2012, 09:35 am
steyn will go down as one of sa’s most underrated flyhalfs.
on friday night he did the business for the bulls again. The running game wasn’t working for either side on friday night for any number of reasons(ring rusty,awesome defence, breakdown infringements and interpretations,etc)
so second half play percentages.
He can play both, it’s never acknowleged though.
the only aspect of the game that I would say Steyn lacks is running speed something the youngsters do have but then they don’t have half as many of the other bows that steyn currently possesses. ??Oh and that one major facet, Steyn has BMT and apptitude in spades.
27 Feb 2012, 09:35 am
You will not won test matches with 22 rookies, neither will you win with 22 over the hill old timers.
It will be the right mix between the right experienced players and the right newcomers.
27 Feb 2012, 09:37 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-20:
If Morne has a settled center pairing his inside, he will be able to play a more expansive game. The Olivier/Pretorius combo never really worked as an expansive option and Jean/Jaque didn’t even score tries for the Stormers. The moment the Bulls’ centers look confident enough to play the expansive game, Morne will show that skill set as well.
27 Feb 2012, 09:37 am
@Nick Armstrong(Nick Armstrong)-22:
I would agree, Goosen really does look to have all the goods going forward but he looks a little injury prone which is a worry. Saying that, Jantjies is playing some awesome rugby and his goal kicking has definately improved.
I’m not sure if 10 is lambies best position.
27 Feb 2012, 09:37 am
@capebull(capebull)-21:
Their style of play created 11 penalties within kicking range which wins you tight test matches.
They also could have opted for line outs.
27 Feb 2012, 09:39 am
The inexperience of Johan Goosen cost the Cheetahs the game on Saturday.
You will start with Morne and bring in the newcomer of the bench.
27 Feb 2012, 09:40 am
@Jeraldjay(Jeraldjay)-18:
You would like to base your attacking play against a team that could score no try in 80 mins against a team with a history of leaking tries.
That seems odd!
27 Feb 2012, 09:40 am
This tactic might work at provincial and Superrugby level, and well done to the Bulls franchise for perfecting this game in some ways, but it’s not going to work at international level. It’s been proven over and over again, that the smarter teams like the ABs and Oz are going to work us out very easily. You need to mix things up and find a balance and I really don’t think guys like Morne, Jean (whose playing terrible rugby at the moment) can give us that in the back division.
27 Feb 2012, 09:42 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-20: I hear you, but when it comes to tests the safer bet is Morne. besides his game is a bit better than just that.
27 Feb 2012, 09:42 am
@Jeraldjay(Jeraldjay)-18: Meyer seems to be the conservative type, he will stick to the tried and tested. I do not expect to see many new faces in the team that was moered by the Convicts in the RWC QF. He will probably bring a bit more directness to the way the team plays.
So expect Steyn to feature. Meyer will definitely instruct his half backs to kick and his chasers to contest. He may win some matches but the top teams will have his number if kick and chase is all he does.
27 Feb 2012, 09:42 am
@Brigadier Van Zyl(Brigadier Van Zyl)-23:
My pointr exactly. It’s not Morne’s fault if the circumstances doesn’t allow for an expansive game. The Boks never had an expansive mindset under De Villiers and Jean and Jaque never really lived up to their attacking reputation for both the Boks and the Stormers.
If I’m not mistaken Morne played in every match that the Bulls scored more than fifty points. He also played in most of the matches they HAD to score a try to win the match and managed to do this.
27 Feb 2012, 09:42 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-16:
but the bulls have beaten those self same players fairly regularly in the past few seasons.
In fact, the boks beat the kiwis with steyn at 10 in nz.
not to mention that he scored all 31 points against the kiwis one afternoon.a record that will not be broken any time soon.
27 Feb 2012, 09:46 am
It’s not the gameplan, but the execution of it. The Bulls of 2009 & 2010 played to a certain gameplan and they executed it accurately. In 2011, they used the same gameplan, but their execution wasn’t accurate. The same with the Boks in 2009. They didn’t loose the WC semi because of their gameplan. They lost it because of unforced handling errors and giving away silly penalties.
27 Feb 2012, 09:46 am
@RL(RL)-32:
question, why would a coach want to make any changes to a side that dominated the ozzies in the last match to the tune of 75/25% possession and territory?
sure,the wobblies scraped through on the scoreboard but put them on a field again with those sort of statistics and I’d wager they’d take another 30points against them.
27 Feb 2012, 09:49 am
@capebull(capebull)-21: indeed, 3 more than the Bullies. Lucky for them they did not play against a team that went out of their way to niggle, to spoil, to interfere with players arriving to clear the rucks. Yes the Cheetahs were negative and preferred to concede 3 points instead of 7.
27 Feb 2012, 09:50 am
@Brigadier Van Zyl(Brigadier Van Zyl)-34:
Again, the Boks won that match because they were ruthlessly accurate in their execution.
27 Feb 2012, 09:56 am
BREAKING NEWS: Otago rugby union to be liquidated
27 Feb 2012, 09:56 am
Transie, how rubbish was Dagg this weekend? Complete garbage!
27 Feb 2012, 09:56 am
@Brigadier Van Zyl(Brigadier Van Zyl)-36: like I said, Meyer will select many of those players – he will instruct them to be more direct and more physical. Expect headlines like “brutal Boks” under Meyers reign.
27 Feb 2012, 09:57 am
@Wezwp(Wezwp)-39: could this just be the catalyst to bring in the spears?
27 Feb 2012, 10:00 am
@Wezwp(Wezwp)-42: talking to youself I see.
27 Feb 2012, 10:01 am
@RL(RL)-37: I am not saying that the Bulls game on Saturady was a nice game , it was about winning , no one gave them a chance , they beat a highly fancied street wise Shark team.
Lets see how they evolve their game as the comp unfolds, I stand corrected but the Bulls have scored either the most or in the top 3 tries in Supa comp the last 5 years. So surely they can not be that bad.
27 Feb 2012, 10:04 am
@RL(RL)-41:
absolutely personally i don’t know how the ozzies and to a lesser extent the reds survive off their 1-8?
how is it the kiwis are able to mangle them everytime and we are not?
I’d be surprised to see pocock finish a full 80 against the boks ever again.He certainly wouldn’t if I were the coach, and NO, that doesn’t mean I’d get the boys to bliksem him but the order of the day would be that if Pocock gets tackled he stays tackled. everytime until he is broken.
I believe it is a coaching,tactical and stratergy issue with the boks.
27 Feb 2012, 10:05 am
@Nick Armstrong(Nick Armstrong)-22:
But Goosen’s defense is non-existant. Did you see him breaking his jaw while attempting a fake tackle on Jantjies? You can’t put him in the Wilko/Carter league just yet.
27 Feb 2012, 10:08 am
@capebull(capebull)-44: I knew the Bullies would win – picked them by 5. Guppies are useless without Alberts and with shoe ponies like Daniel and Kankowski, who in their right mind would pick the guppies. It was ugly indeed but a win is a win. Do you think that losing Sadie and weird breakdown interpretations forced them to go the aerial route?
27 Feb 2012, 10:09 am
Why not have Steyn on the bench… Give the younger guys a chance…
27 Feb 2012, 10:09 am
@Mr Black(Mr Black)-29:
Lions gameplan/strategy with BOK players.
27 Feb 2012, 10:10 am
“Steyn’s the man for Meyer”.
This “Headline” gives me almost as much joy as the “Big5 Boycott Threat” of a week or so ago.
Go on Heyneke…………………………………………………..make my day.
Pages: [1] 2 3 » Show All
Have your say
You must be logged in to post a comment.