Frans out for three months
2 Oct 2012
Frans Steyn will undergo an ankle operation on Wednesday that will rule him out of rugby for the rest of 2012.
Steyn sustained the injury in training last week, and was not considered for the Test against Australia at Loftus Versfeld. The latest news from the Bok medical team is that Steyn’s injury is serious, and that immediate surgery is the best course of action in the context of his long-term career.
‘We made the decision to have the surgery, to get in there and clean it out properly,’ said Bok team doctor Craig Roberts. ‘He will be out for three months, which is a blow in terms of the coming game [against the All Blacks] and the end-of-year tour, but we felt it’s a good decision in the long-term.
‘Frans is a youngster and can play 60 more Tests if we manage him well. This is the right thing to do. We will get him into good shape before the 2013 season, and he will enjoy a full pre-season programme.’
Meanwhile, prop Coenie Oosthuizen won’t be available for the next Test against the All Blacks. Oosthuizen recently made his comeback from a neck injury, but Roberts is not happy that the prop has completely recovered. Roberts said the Boks will seek the advice of a specialist this week to determine whether Oosthuizen needs more time on the sideline.
Flank Jacques Potgieter picked up an abdominal strain when he played for the Bulls last week, and so is also unavailable for the Boks.
Of those that were hurt in last Saturday’s Test in Pretoria, fullback Zane Kirchner is the biggest concern. Kirchner came out of that clash with a bruised hip, the result of colliding with Wallabies centre Adam Ashley-Cooper’s head when he attempted to score a try.
Kirchner did not train with the Boks at St Peters College on Monday, but Roberts said the Boks would give Kirchner another two days to recover before making a call on his availability.
Bok coach Heyneke Meyer said on Monday that he wouldn’t change the starting line-up this week unless he had to. If Kirchner is fit, he will play at fullback. If he fails to recover sufficiently, Pat Lambie will wear the No 15 jersey.
Flyhalf Johan Goosen (ankle) didn’t train either on Monday, but Roberts said this was precautionary more than anything else.
The same applied to prop Jannie du Plessis and flank Willem Alberts, who did not take part in any of the training drills but are expected to be fit for the Rugby Championship finale at Soccer City.
Utility back Lionel Mapoe and loose forward Arno Botha have been called up to provide cover.
‘Seeing that Willem is also not 100% at the moment, we only have three fit loose forwards in the squad and needed someone to provide cover at blindside flank and No 8, which is why Arno is coming to join us. He was part of our Young Guns squad in June as has been in our plans before,’ said Meyer.
‘Lionel has been in great form lately and apart from providing cover in the midfield, he can also be used on the wing if necessary.’
By Jon Cardinelli, in Johannesburg
271 Comments
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1 Oct 2012, 16:45 pm
So the physical speciman will stay at 13. Great…
1 Oct 2012, 16:53 pm
Yeah good move.
Get in there, deal with it once and for all.
Then get him on a conditionsing program with Mark Steele and Jimmy Wright.
Have him smoking again by the S15 next year.
1 Oct 2012, 16:54 pm
Conditionsing?
Conditioning.
1 Oct 2012, 16:58 pm
man what a fuking let down but hey at least we get to see taute take over at 13 that kid looked class then we drop jean in 2013??? natural way forward i think so meh it all pans out i suppose. as long he fit for 2013 and conditioned well im happy.
1 Oct 2012, 16:59 pm
This provides a good opportunity for Taute to put pressure on Jean de Villiers for 2013. Which players are our other options at 12. JdJ, Whitehead, Brache and Serfontein.
Do the WP supporters on this site rate Brache? I have been impressed with him and he should get a chance in next year’s super rugby tournament.
1 Oct 2012, 17:02 pm
We are in a bit of trouble if we get our usual EOYT injuries. Bok depth is very thin at this stage.
1 Oct 2012, 17:02 pm
Get him to lose about 5kg’s and he will not fall over his own ankle in future – get him fit and conditioned for 2013. For now Taute to 13 and Divvy to 12.
1 Oct 2012, 17:03 pm
@skunk-1: *** man if we gotta have lambie we in the sshit big stylee! i think we can cope with taute and jean but a no show at the back aint gonna end other way than tears. fuking sad tozzer gets a easy cap again ill have to punch the next person i see
1 Oct 2012, 17:04 pm
how come the Boks train only in suburban schools? why can’t they train at Orldandos stadium or Dobsonville since they’re playing Soweto?
1 Oct 2012, 17:04 pm
@RL-7: he aint over weight you gimp! jean now is a little heavier and there are loadsa centres bigger than him.
1 Oct 2012, 17:04 pm
how come the Boks train only in suburban schools? why can’t they train at Orlando stadium or Dobsonville since they’re playing Soweto?
1 Oct 2012, 17:05 pm
@Transformation-11: coz its *****
1 Oct 2012, 17:08 pm
@Blitzbok-12: Orlando is ****? What are you smoking?
1 Oct 2012, 17:09 pm
@Blitzbok-8: Step away from the weed.
1 Oct 2012, 17:10 pm
@Transformation-11: It probably takes too long to get to those training facilities from their hotel.
And they are not really playing in Soweto. If they are playing in Soweto then the old Rand se paasskou was in Soweto.
1 Oct 2012, 17:11 pm
@Transformation-11: But isn’t there lots of crime and blecks there?
Once again admin misses an opportunity to expand the game to the masses. The vast majority of suburban school goers who love rugby will probably be at the game this Saturday as well…
1 Oct 2012, 17:18 pm
@Bagel-16: Exactly.
1 Oct 2012, 17:21 pm
The Boks take Madiba’s example: Houghton Estate to reside rather then in Soweto
On the rugby note, Styen is a huge loss, JdV defence is poor to pathetic.
1 Oct 2012, 17:22 pm
@Bagel-16: they miss it everywhere…when they played in PE they arranged a training session at Grey high and 5000 people showed up, suburban, middle class people.
they never took the opportunity to go to the townships where the siya kolisis come from, where the cecil afrikas come from, no tribute for solly tyibilika given to springrose club etc…missed opportunities galore.
show a different face to this team. it is not a team only supported by “50yr old middle and upper class caucasians” as Pissant said some study showed.
1 Oct 2012, 17:29 pm
Blitzbok
The only issue is he has a hands problem. A center who is going to knock on too much is not ideal. JdJ is a better option.
1 Oct 2012, 17:30 pm
@Hondo-18: what is going on here Hondo? how come the ad with de jongh plugging Montecasino BokTown still saying Incoming Tour vs England and then still have SA vs NZ on the 6th of October? nc nc nc
1 Oct 2012, 17:34 pm
Transie the study seems to miss a lot of people of color. At the tank and Newlands its very mixed. Yet we here that surveys say its white middle aged men who watch the rugby. Wonder where it was done this study…
1 Oct 2012, 17:35 pm
@Transformation-19: It doesn’t matter whether that study is right or wrong, because that reality MUST change for the benefit of Rugby. It’s ludicrous to think that keeping Rugby as elitist will benefit the Boks when we can tap into 70% (a guess) more people as players, spectators and general role players in our Rugby’s development.
I agree don’t let Government take over as they’ll likely stuff it up but grow the game dammit it’s really not that difficult. I mean just imagine the faces of kids in Soweto who’re eking out a living subjected to f*kall opportunities and resources, when they see the Boks practicing in their neighbourhood, signing autographs for them chucking a rugby ball around with them. Will make their year I tell you…
1 Oct 2012, 17:56 pm
I don’t wish injury on anyone and Crusty has heart, but please start Lambie HM… even if it takes an injury to enforce the change.
1 Oct 2012, 18:02 pm
Coenie and Transie Steyn are big losses – hoping them a speedy recovery – Hope Coenies problem is not permanent.
1 Oct 2012, 18:18 pm
another injury enforced silver lining Fransie was hugely overrated and over hyped plus over weight… and a big part of the midfield not functioning… this one more lucky packet scenario forcing the messianic coach’s hand to make the right call for the wrong reasons.. by default.
1 Oct 2012, 18:19 pm
Think this is a big blow for our game against ABs. Though JdV was good there on Satarday, we just can’t tell by us playing against such a very poor Aussie side. We have to remember they were without many of their top players. Also in the game their players that started were dropping one after the other in the test as well to injury. We played a total 18min against them when they only had 14 men. So really not sure how much we can take out of that game.
The ABs will be a different kettle of fish totally. We will be tested for sure. Really hope we do beat them. We should have beaten them in Dunedin. Here I don’t care if we beat them by one point, that will be enough for me. When it comes to the Boks/ABs game don’t care how much we win by as long as we win.
If Zane is out injured on Saturday then we will need to bring in another fb to cover Lambie. This is now what bloody annoys me of Meyer. He should have been giving players at least 15 to 20min game time in the previous tests. We need our replacements to be game ready.
Pity about Coenie not being available either. Then neck injuries take a long time to heal and should be treated with respect. Let it heal proper before coming back. We need Coenie long term. So just hope they manage him proper.
1 Oct 2012, 18:26 pm
@fitz1ella-26: Don’t talk nonsense. It was because of Morne that our midfield never functioned well.
Fransie is solid as a rock in defence and we will be needing that against the ABs.
1 Oct 2012, 18:37 pm
@Puma-28: Hiyas Puma bro, you well??
1 Oct 2012, 18:38 pm
@Puma-28: Frans Steyn is quality, one of the top 3 no 12′s in the game
Roberts
SBW
Frans
1 Oct 2012, 18:43 pm
Can’t believe Arno Botha has been selected for the Boks. Keegan Daniel treated poorly by Meyer.
1 Oct 2012, 18:44 pm
@skunk-20: I’m glad some1 else noticed that.
Taute has a lot of talent but shouldn’t be starting@13 for the Boks, perhaps brought off the bench.
He averages 3 knock ons per game when not playing@full back and needs time to make the step up.
Saturday’s game I counted 2 knock on’s …though he made some solid defensive contributions
1 Oct 2012, 18:47 pm
@sharks_lover-29: Very well and you bro?
Now just hope that Fransie is fit and ready for Sharks. Injuries coming fast now to many players.
1 Oct 2012, 18:47 pm
Jean Deysel would also have been a far more capable and deserving call up.
1 Oct 2012, 18:48 pm
@wp_boytjie-31:
Lionel Mapoe also there apparently, been on fire in CC. Doubt he will get gametime though.
1 Oct 2012, 18:49 pm
@skunk-20: my real issue is we don’t appreciate the importance of combinations in backline whereas we do in the forwards.
Our backline took 26 minutes to find any form of cohesion, in a test match against the All Blacks that could be more than detrimental. JdJ should be starting with Taute coming off bench
1 Oct 2012, 18:49 pm
@blik-30: Agree. Most will only see that once Fransie plays for Sharks next year. Also Lambie will be fh at Sharks next year, which will show just how good Fransie is.
1 Oct 2012, 18:54 pm
Where’s every1 getting this info about Botha and Mapoe being in Springbok setup???
1 Oct 2012, 18:55 pm
@blik-30: Based on WHAT performance?? Or is this just IYHO?
1 Oct 2012, 18:55 pm
@Transformation-11:
Because it is more pleasant in the ‘burbs dude. Besides why do you want to train in front of crowds that supposedly will only support rugby if there are black players in the team?
1 Oct 2012, 18:59 pm
@Seismic-35:
Mapoe is a decent player and i won’t complain about his inclusion , but Arno Botha , CJ Stander and Jacques Potgieter all undeserved selections for me. I’d select any of Derick Minnie , Brussouw , Elstadt , Daniel , Deysel ahead of any of them.
1 Oct 2012, 19:03 pm
@wp_boytjie-41: Where did you read that bud? Is Arno Both and CJ Stander with the Boks? Jeez feel for Keegan. Our loosies outplayed the Bulls on Saturday. Keegan was brilliant, better than CJ.
If Mapoe is with the Boks then good. He is playing very well. Hope that Meyer too will give Jordaan a look for eoyt.
1 Oct 2012, 19:08 pm
@Puma-42: Bro doing well thanks, as for the Boks?? please dont hope any Sharks get called up under HM, He is ruining their career’s
1 Oct 2012, 19:09 pm
@Puma-42: Brussow is another being very poorly treated
1 Oct 2012, 19:09 pm
sport24.co.za/Rugby/RugbyChampionship/Boks-call-up-Lionel-Mapoe-Arno-Botha-20121001
1 Oct 2012, 19:15 pm
@Puma-42:
Not Cj Stander , but also felt he didn’t do enough to be there in the first place. Ja harsh on Daniel
1 Oct 2012, 19:28 pm
I disagree. I know that most of the Sharks supporters on this site rate Daniel, but at international level I would pick Botha every day of the week before Daniel.
Just my opinion. In this case I think HM got t right.
He’s looking for 8th man cover and he sees Daniel as too light for that position. I agree personally.
1 Oct 2012, 19:46 pm
great for Mapoe! the boy has been on fire…
eish Keegan vs Arno…hhmm the Boks want “blindside & 8th man cover”
i don’t know if keegan has ever played blindside.
1 Oct 2012, 19:49 pm
These types of call ups seldom result in any playing time but it does send a message as far as the pecking order goes.
JDJ is center cover and will warm the bench. Mapoe after that. Lambie at 15 cover and Botha to cover coetzees spot on the bench if he has to come into the team for say Alberts.
1 Oct 2012, 19:49 pm
@stormersboy-47:
I thought that Coetzee and Flo covered all 3 loosie positions. Besides, Juandre can also cover 7 and 5. The reality is that barring injuries during training, the bench will remain the same. Personally had have moved Taute to 15 and JdJ at 13, but HM has already committed himself to Lambie as a 15.
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