Morne hopes to keep critics quiet
20 Aug 2012
Morne Steyn was happy with his performance during the Springboks’ 27-6 win over Argentina in Cape Town, but recognises the importance of maintaining form.
After a poor campaign during Super Rugby and the June Test series against England, the Springbok No 10 entered the Rugby Championship under immense pressure to perform. He was rated as the worst goal-kicker among the South African flyhalves, having only achieved a 76% success rate (84 from 110 attempts) for the Bulls. He also only managed a 57% success rate (13 from 23 attempts) over the three Tests against England.
Pundits argued that if Steyn wasn’t performing well from the kicking tee, he had to be dropped. However, head coach Heyneke Meyer defended his first-choice pivot, pointing to physical and mental fatigue as the reason for his inconsistency as the player has featured in every possible Super Rugby game and Test over the last three seasons.
Meyer believed that the two-week break after Super Rugby would give Steyn enough time to prepare himself for the Rugby Championship. And the 28-year-old repaid this faith by playing a key role in the victory over the Pumas last weekend, converting all four of his goal attempts. Two of them came from difficult angles.
Steyn creditted close attention to his goal-kicking and ignoring the critics for his improved display at Newlands.
‘The performance was a good start to the Rugby Championship. Hopefully the critics can say better things and I can continue doing well,’ Steyn told keo.co.za. ‘I don’t think there was major hassles with regards to my goal kicking. I just worked really hard on my game.
‘The two-week break definitely helped. It’s something all the players didn’t have in a while. The rest did us all well and the hard work paid off on the field on Saturday. I also tried to avoid what the media was saying and listened to the right people. When I converted my first kick, I knew it was going to be a good day.
‘But next weekend, the pressure is back on us and me. I need to maintain this form, for the good of the team and to keep the critics quiet.’
Steyn was also happy with his cross kick in the second half, which created a try for wing Bryan Habana: ‘That was a highlight moment. It’s always good when you play a part in scoring tries.’
However, the Boks missed out on a great opportunity to claim a four-try bonus point against Argentina. When they built a comfortable lead in the first half, they turned down kickable penalties to search for the whitewash. But they still felt one try short.
Steyn hopes the team’s finishing will improve as the Rugby Championship progresses.
‘We backed our forwards to do the job up front, that’s why the captain called to go for the lineouts. We created good opportunities and really wanted those four tries. But it wasn’t our day.
‘The big positive was the fact that we didn’t concede any tries. That’s a big focus for us, we don’t want to leak tries during the tournament.’
By Gareth Duncan
38 Comments
20 Aug 2012, 09:17 am
so steyn actually goes back to getting kicks he’s EXPECTED to get as an international 10 and suddenly he’s back to form? sigh.
20 Aug 2012, 09:45 am
The Argies will whistle and jeer before every kick this weekend.
20 Aug 2012, 09:50 am
@flanka-1: Expected? Ja those ones from the sideline cannot be missed hey…… Waar bliksem jy uit?
20 Aug 2012, 09:51 am
@flanka-1: Agreed. If that was Dan Carter he would be upset at the poor performace.
Steyn is a poor distributor.
20 Aug 2012, 09:53 am
@Big Hit-2: Like the WP supporters?
20 Aug 2012, 09:53 am
@flanka-1: you know mos us saffas… as long as our FH kicks his kicks we are happy…
20 Aug 2012, 09:54 am
@Big Hit-2:
ag they do that at newlands,
nothing new there.
20 Aug 2012, 09:58 am
I guess it doesnt really matter what morne does there will those that just want their favorite players there.
Very tidy performance in my opinion mixed it up nicely.
20 Aug 2012, 10:22 am
One cross kick is “mixing it up”?
20 Aug 2012, 10:29 am
He was not great, he was not woeful, he was everage: nothing more, nothing less. If people are RAVING about him, just because he didn’t fuckup blatantly, we are in more shy te than what I originally thought.
Since when is average good enough?
20 Aug 2012, 10:30 am
@flanka-9:
shampies.
was the rugby on at the same time as Cbeebies?
20 Aug 2012, 11:23 am
He still does not threathen the gain line or keep defenders guessing.
We should have scored 4 tries against the Argies.
I am unhappy with the performance.
20 Aug 2012, 11:27 am
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-10: I think average has been good enough since Straulie, but it needs to be looked at. Hougaard would be an awesome wing, but we play him at 9 were he is average. Jean is the most average player we have, so we make him captain. Steyn is average, so he will be picked above Goosen, cause he’ll ‘never let us down’. Marcell is ave and never done anything special. we are lucky when Zane has an average game. Jannie is Mr. Average. Spoes is nowhere near average.
If anyone thinks we have a hope in hell with this average bunch, you are delusional.
20 Aug 2012, 11:39 am
@goyougoodthing2-4: steyn is our best distributor by far and carter is the shittiest kicker out there. the day carter missed 7 kicks against the boks and a wonky drop and was still praised by the journos. yep something is very wrong with you people.
20 Aug 2012, 11:41 am
@Blitzbok-14: delusional. At best, on a windy day with a downhill run and a running head start.
20 Aug 2012, 11:41 am
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-10: its good enough with lambie, spies, schalk, jean, bismarck, flip, werner kruger, liebenberg, jantjies, olivier. you are joke pal.
20 Aug 2012, 11:42 am
@goyougoodthing2-15: a runny turdd on a humid day, with leather chaps and a belly full of cheap curry. stuff your azz up bud.
20 Aug 2012, 11:42 am
@willievz-12: Howzit Willa. Ever though that attacking the gainline was not part of his role in the gameplan?
20 Aug 2012, 11:43 am
@Blitzbok-17: So poetic, I think you missed your calling.
20 Aug 2012, 11:45 am
@Blitzbok-14: Are you drunk? And if so, do you have someone to assist you in turning your laptop off?
20 Aug 2012, 11:50 am
@KWAGGA ROBERTSE-18: Hoesit Kwagga, lanklaas gesels ou maat.
The first receiver’s decision on how to receive the ball shapes the phase that will play out, and will impact second and subsequent phase ball in terms of speed.
If the 10 wants to kick, he does not need to run onto the ball necessarily.
But if he wants to distribute, he has a crucial role in keeping defenders guessing. And by running onto the ball and receiving the ball in front of him, he succeeds in this. It also gives him more passing options and injects immediate pace into the offense.
Peter Grant has the same issue Morne does, and this is at the heart of the Stormers’ ineptitude on the offense. Distributes from a standing position, and receiving the ball closer to the basket, rather than the hands in front of his body.
20 Aug 2012, 12:20 pm
@willievz-21:
what twak….what you write is technically correct in some aspects but not relevent to morne this past weekend.
If the boks are turned over every 2-3rd phase…… or at best slowed down to a stand still how do you want a flyhalf to run into a wall of defenders. It’s called crash-bash….and if he was doing that he’d be critisized for doing it.
go figure
20 Aug 2012, 12:42 pm
@Brigadier Van Zyl-22: Not running into the wall, but running towards the wall.
Big difference, colonel.
20 Aug 2012, 14:23 pm
Mourn can only every aspire to be average, it’s been that or plain shite like he was in the England series. Congrats on hitting your plateau Mourn and nailing your field kicks. Hope to see the back of you ASAP.
20 Aug 2012, 14:35 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-10: that’s exactly what i asked ek is lief fir bakkies yesterday, the expectation is SO LOW that when morne has an average game where he does NOTHING flash, he gets kudos, pats on the back and MoM awards…
Aaron Cruden has had more than 10 performances this season that make what morne did on saturday look s.hit!
this is the same bloke who was on the cover of SA Rugby magazine sprouting “if you want it (10 jersey), come and get it”, now the only reason he still has it is because the coach smaaks him.
20 Aug 2012, 14:55 pm
@willievz-12: willievz Steyn wasn’t trying to threaten the gainline or keep defenders guessing, all he was interested in was kicking or passing inside to a forward. He was playing to the coach’s gameplan and doing it well, so well in fact that he won motm.
I think those with any grievance towards Steyn’s performance should direct it towards the coach.
20 Aug 2012, 14:57 pm
@Big Hit-26:
I am sure the “gameplan” in the second half was to get the 3rd and 4th try.
You don’t score tries if your 10 distributes from a static position. Simple.
20 Aug 2012, 15:04 pm
@ Willie – agree 100%. Whilst Steyn did have a better game he’s still not a running flyhalf. I prefer Elton at 10 as he hits the gaps a lot quicker and puts pressure on opposing 10 and 12. Passing from a static position allows defence to tighten up…
20 Aug 2012, 15:16 pm
@Transformation-25: Now who was you man of the match genius?
20 Aug 2012, 15:22 pm
@willievz-27: I expect Meyer may well have a different idea on how to go about scoring tries to you or I. The emphasis appeared to be on going forward before you go wide and unless there was go-forward Steyn did not go wide hence the endless recycling.
Morne Steyn isn’t an impediment to an attacking backline. The Blue Bulls in 2009 and 2010 played some very fast-paced attacking, expansive rugby with him at 10. If he’s playing conservatively it’s because he has been asked to do so. If Jantjes started he would be asked to play in the same way.
20 Aug 2012, 15:24 pm
@Big Hit-30: Amen to that.
20 Aug 2012, 16:00 pm
For all your anti-bullls-in-the-boksquad critics… Guess what? You gonna be critisising for 4yrs running cause your and my voice of concern aint matter at all…
Steyn is average at best… But we won……. Again!!!! Only vhange will be pienaar for hougaard with the latter moving to wing or be benched as I hope for to happen.
20 Aug 2012, 16:04 pm
@Big Hit-30: The Bulls also had FDP at 9, in his prime, who was the primary decision-maker in that backline. He would help Morne with his alignment and pick out strike runners around the ruck. Now that luxury is gone.
Also, don’t underestimate the role Olivier had in that 2009/10 Bulls team. He was very effective at carrying the ball up because, at Super Rugby level, he manages to get over the advantage line – something he struggles with at international level.
I appreciate your comment about playing conservatively in the first half, but they should have got that bonus point try. Even when passing to inside runners or distributing in the close channels, you should not do it from a static position. And we paid the price for that.
20 Aug 2012, 17:23 pm
Morne Steyn, yawn, yawn, yawn, so slow, what purpose does he actually serve, they have Frans Steyn who can kick, Ruan Pienaar who can kick. Predictable boring blue bulls rugby style, the All Blacks, Australia, Wales all ran at Morne Steyn, he was such a liability. Springboks couldn’t even beat England in their last gane on home soil. The same old for another 4 years, boring , boring, boring and of course predictable. This is how you beat the Springboks, slow their ball down, Mr Pocock, Mr McCaw, the Argies, did this so effectively, run the 10 channel, fast phase play out to the wings and try after try after try, this is what the All Blacks , Australia have done consistently to the Boks. This will happen again, reinventing the wheel over and over. Please Mr Meyer bring back Brussouw when he is fit, please pick, Aplon above Zane Kircher, small or not, at least he does something with the ball, please drop Morne Steyn and please go and get Todd Louden out of Australia, whatever it takes to play some attacking fast running rugby, Ricardo Loubscher is useless.
20 Aug 2012, 18:23 pm
Come On!!! Steyn is a below average player that can – if things go his way – kick a bit. He has never been in form in any other area of the game other than kicking.
Morne Steyn is the new John Smith, keeping real greats out of the Bok jersey.
21 Aug 2012, 01:37 am
The only thing that is worth having Morne for is his “above average” goal kicking abilities. Our previous coach decided on that, ******** up Pinaars future.
Reality is he is mediocore on everything else. So if his kicking is not on par then he should be on the bench. O’ Gara, the irish boy would kick morne’s chip to the wing often, and kick it perfectly, infact i think few can match O’Gara’s capabilites in this department. His presision is amaising at times. So although its fab to execute such a move and get a result it’s not wooh stuff. Many teams pull it off, he for once might have got some vision for bloody once –”highlight” mmm.
21 Aug 2012, 01:51 am
maximas1
It is no point pleading to the fundermental flaw in Springbok rugby, the coaching staff ie – Springbok management.
Meyer has strong opinions and will adhere to them, Morne aint going anywhere, Kircher has leaps and bounds to prove to me his capabilites.
Lambie is still a child so it is not the worst thing in the world leaving out the kids who have maturing to accomplish. Although with weaker teams I dont see why Aplon and Lambie cant play, slowly increase their expereince and this would develop them more on a consistant level …its a shame giving other guys much needed rest.
I do agree Aplon is too small and too easy a target. However he does make up ground for a side step and flawless tackle technique. I think his head is a little to big for his shoulders though.
21 Aug 2012, 05:19 am
I don’t think that he mixed up the attack at all. he did not chip teh line once, he did not run at a gap once. No inside passes either.
BUT He did hold the ball in both hands and hold the defence up in the buld up to Zane’s try, which was good. And he did cross kick well. His kicking out of hand was very good. His place kicking was great. He did not try counterattacking from his own 22, whioch I think is good, unless its really on, and it was not.
So all in all, I think he he did do very well. Still some work to be done though. A chip over teh line at the begginning of the game can make a fast/rush defence hang back, and buy time for his whole backline for the rest of the game.
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