X-factor Frans to fire
27 Feb 2013
MARK KEOHANE writes Frans Steyn, against the Stormers, will show Heyneke Meyer why he should start at No 12 for the Boks.
Jean de Villiers has been an outstanding Springbok but I don’t see him making the 2015 World Cup and I think this year will be his last at the highest level. De Villiers will still add value to the Boks in 2013 but not necessarily in a starting capacity.
Bok coach Heyneke Meyer raved about De Villiers’s contribution as captain of the Boks in 2012 and indicated he would invest more in De Villiers this season, but the form of Steyn at No 12 could make it hard for Meyer to select De Villiers in his favourite inside centre position.
Steyn has always been used as a fullback and inside centre at the Sharks. On occasion he has played outside centre, wing and even flyhalf, but in his three years at Racing Metro he made the midfield his own and was primarily selected for his physicality in the centres.
Steyn, when he helped win South Africa the World Cup as a 20 year-old, was already a big unit but he is physically imposing in stature and his kicking game and all-round skill level means his physicality is often not acknowledged.
He is a beast in the midfield and weighs over 100 kilograms and is well conditioned. He is strong in contact and he is the only midfielder in South Africa who can consistently stand up in the tackle and offload effectively.
Steyn’s linekicking game makes him a gem at inside centre. He is strong enough to take it to the line and has strong distribution skills. But it’s that monster boot of his that keeps the defence honest and also keeps them hesitant. He provides a foil to Pat Lambie at No 10 and having two such capable out of hand kickers makes it a nightmare for any opposition fullback.
Last year I asked 102-Test Springbok fullback legend Percy Montgomery who he would select at inside centre for the Boks. He said he would pick Steyn ahead of De Villiers but he felt De Villiers at No 13 or on the wing still offered South Africa options and he added he would select both in his run on XV.
But it was Steyn who got his nod at 12 because of how difficult his selection made it for any opposition back three.
‘Jean has fantastic qualities but he has never had a line kicking game. As a fullback you know he is never going to play for field position by way of his boot and you can positionally defend the back three axis relatively confidently against a 10/12 combination in which the 12 doesn’t have a kicking game,’ said Montgomery. ‘It changes the dynamic completely when a side has a 12 like Frans who can kick the ball further than most international 10s and he can cause a lot of uncertainty to a back three, especially if that back three includes wingers who don’t have strong kicking games. He gets the ball one channel out and he can chase you around from side to side and force back a pressured clearance, in which he gains 30-50 metres and his team gets the ball back.
‘I think he is a gem at inside centre and that is where I’d play him all the time with the Boks. He has matured his game in France and he has added composure to the physicality he has always naturally had. He has also taken ownership of his game and has been rewarded with the captaincy at the Sharks.’
Steyn will benefit from playing inside centre consistently this season and Lambie, if fit, being the regular No 10.
De Villiers will play either No 13 or No 12 against the Sharks on Saturday, depending on the fitness of fellow Bok Juan de Jongh, but either way he and Steyn will enjoy a rare head to head battle that should give Meyer an insight into what will best work for the Boks this season and more specifically in his build-up to the 2015 World Cup.
Currently I would pick De Villiers at outside centre for the Boks in 2013 and Steyn at No 12.
Saturday in Durban will tell you why.
Steyn, like Dan Carter, is gold among the world’s backline elite. He has the X-factor.
698 Comments
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27 Feb 2013, 13:03 pm
I predict Louis Fouche will get 2 more seasons and then just as Pollard threatens to pack his bags and leave the Bulls will finally catch a wake up and take some long overdue action.
Interesting, if Grant’s team is the official one, what happened to Frans Venter?
Dropped or injured?
27 Feb 2013, 13:06 pm
@FrenklyMuDeah-292:
Some personal noises from the bathroom could be construed as a threat to safety ……
27 Feb 2013, 13:06 pm
@Tacitus-301: b0th are official teams
27 Feb 2013, 13:07 pm
@grant10-303:
Yes, I just checked the Bulls website.
Glad Serfontein got his chance. Pity Pollard didn’t get a chance too.
27 Feb 2013, 13:09 pm
@Tacitus-304: yes…..he should of stayed in CT…
27 Feb 2013, 13:09 pm
@grant10-303: Stormers fooked with that selection. Scrums and lineouts to suffer and the knockon effect will be felt in the backs. Chalk up another loss. I think the Stormers should be happy with a losing bonus point.
27 Feb 2013, 13:10 pm
Back to the noises… remember it was the noises that made him feel threatened as he did not see the intruder, so we’re dealing with audio here.
I’ve tried to think of a polite way to say this: you would reasonably expect noises emanating from:
* Liquids
* Solids
* Gases
One or combinations thereof. ‘Threatening’ is not what to (the reasonable man’s) mind
I reckon the prosecution had the phone records already at bail stage clearly showing the incoming sms, but did not want to give their trump card away at round 1. Preps there were minor technicalities that they needed to resolve for example: the incoming sms did not show a number so more work was needed on that.
27 Feb 2013, 13:11 pm
@grant10-305: scroll back a bit, i posted the Sharks team.
27 Feb 2013, 13:11 pm
@grant10-305:
Yes, sure. Because we all know he would have played in Cape Town ahead of Grant and Jantjies…
27 Feb 2013, 13:11 pm
@grant10-305: Still too young, needs another season.
27 Feb 2013, 13:12 pm
@pompies2-306: scary thought…then the chiefs up next….fark…
27 Feb 2013, 13:13 pm
@Tacitus-309: we would not of needed Jantjes……if he stayed.
27 Feb 2013, 13:14 pm
@Sharks_are_gonna_get_you-308: saw it….big loose trio….
27 Feb 2013, 13:15 pm
@Tacitus-309: so better he sit in Bulls Vodacom cup team than WP vodacom Cup team?
27 Feb 2013, 13:16 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-291: And so are your ignorant interferring whining blabbering posts to think i am someone you want me to be and 2ndly to think you will get under my skin?? If you are half the woman or decent woman you proclaim to be????????? which i very much doubt.
Scroll by, do it with speed ok? I have no desire to have a convo with you in any way
get the drift? 
27 Feb 2013, 13:16 pm
@grant10-314:
Err…what’s your argument, Grantie?
27 Feb 2013, 13:16 pm
@grant10-311: I think there might be some change from the Chiefs in the tight phases, because they only use the tight phases as a platform for attack and not domination. The prefer the tight-loose phases. The Sharks though will look to dominate the scrums and lineouts. Jantjies will also be under extreme defensive pressure, so expect a very direct attack aimed at the inside channels and using Jordaan to step against and use his pace against JdV.
27 Feb 2013, 13:16 pm
@Sheriff-307: Could be some growling too
@grant10-313: Eenbal is Taute, aka Numbnuts.
27 Feb 2013, 13:17 pm
@grant10-313: That means nothing Grant, It all depends on who wants it the most on the day, both teams have their pro’s and cons.
27 Feb 2013, 13:17 pm
Hype about Taute. I wonder what he really brings to the table other than big and running straight powerful lines once at cruising speed (any fullback must be able to kick).
Really don’t see the difference between him and Daniller
Flip, the Stormtroopers need some backline jet fuel
27 Feb 2013, 13:18 pm
@Tacitus-316: die kaap is naaiser as Snorcity
27 Feb 2013, 13:18 pm
@Tacitus-316: no argument….just think if we managed to keep him he would have got the same , if not more, exposure here in CT….
27 Feb 2013, 13:19 pm
I’m more interested in exploring the Stormers season from here on out should they lose on Saturday.
Does the Chiefs game then become a must win for them?
27 Feb 2013, 13:19 pm
AlIster Coetsee got no f’ng clue just like his clueless mentor Jake he’s busy f’ng up Stormers with his conservative cancerous cowardice. One dimensional robots heading for a slaughter like the Boks of 2006 no difference. Not a f’ng clue in the world of any rugby related vision.
27 Feb 2013, 13:20 pm
@grant10-322: Don’t forget we took Carel Dups lighty from you too
27 Feb 2013, 13:21 pm
@@whistle@blower@-320: habana can still change a game by himself. If he caught that ball that Daniller did Saturday the Sharks’ record would read P1 W0 L0 D1
27 Feb 2013, 13:21 pm
@pompies2-317: @Sharks_are_gonna_get_you-319: Sharks have chosen a pack to try ddominate….they were hapy to go with Botes against Cheetahs as they expected an open game…they are gearing for a war of attrition against Stormers…
It will be a low scoring , dour affair, similar to the bulls stormers game imo
27 Feb 2013, 13:21 pm
@Tacitus-323: Not necessarily, unless they fail to score bonus point victories and get maximum losing bonus points. Victories become non-negotiable
27 Feb 2013, 13:22 pm
@skopdiekan-324: That’s professor jake to you.
27 Feb 2013, 13:22 pm
@grant10-322: Aren’t we vodacom champs?
27 Feb 2013, 13:23 pm
@Tacitus-323: sharks game is a must win imo…..
27 Feb 2013, 13:23 pm
@Tacitus-323: Tacci i cannot see how that will be the case as the Stormers would have played both games away from home, there are those games away that they will win.
Way to early to make that call, Sharks played in the final last year? we all know how their season started.
27 Feb 2013, 13:24 pm
@Tacitus-323:
No, Sharks lost to both Stormers and Bulls in the opening rounds of last years S15.
Sharks did get losing bonus points though, which may have helped in the end.
27 Feb 2013, 13:24 pm
@grant10-327: They’ll be smarter in their attack than that. Domination at the contact point will be their plan. Opens things up quite a bit.
27 Feb 2013, 13:25 pm
@stormersboy-330: and CC champs….and u 19 champs……
but fark me I want that superrugby title man….
27 Feb 2013, 13:26 pm
@Sharks_are_gonna_get_you-315:
Typical Tyrone
27 Feb 2013, 13:27 pm
please keep picking JDV for the bokke
he was past it in 2011
and Frans Steyn is so over rated. ordinary player.
27 Feb 2013, 13:27 pm
@Dilligafrican-326:
Im in the sticks. Not watched the matches.
Agree about Habana. For sure
Just wondering about Taute. Only difference between him and Daniller is probably brut force.
If you have him, Frans Steyn and JdV in one team, you have the muscle. But no running creativity other than head down and bash. (Just referring to HM’s Springbok thinking)
27 Feb 2013, 13:27 pm
@grant10-335:
A little bit of advice: You ain’t gonna win that Superrugby title this year. Even if you HAD beaten the Bulls last week, you still weren’t gonna win that title. You’re just not good enough.
27 Feb 2013, 13:27 pm
@grant10-335: Yes I know, that was more Tacitus’ benefit when he asked what the difference would be between Pollard playing VC rugby here and there
27 Feb 2013, 13:28 pm
Just can’t see us beating the Sharks on Saturday.
Possible, but improbable.
27 Feb 2013, 13:28 pm
@pompies2-334: yeah…..my take is these bloody stormers got us in the kak….so they must now get us out the kak….Not happy with no JDJ…..he must not of recovered enough…..the stormers 12 and 13 are too similar and 1 dimensional imo….
I would have started with De Allende at 12 and JDJ…13
27 Feb 2013, 13:29 pm
@grant10-342:
Sharks are missing Alberts and Bismark, which gives you a faint outside chance. But I’m not picking you guys on Superbru, that’s for sure.
27 Feb 2013, 13:31 pm
The Guppies
15. Louis Ludik
14. JP Pietersen
13. Paul Jordaan
12. Francois Steyn (C)
11. Lwazi Mvovo
10. Patrick Lambie
9. Cobus Reinach
8. Ryan Kankowski
7. Jean Deysel
6. Marcell Coetzee
5. Franco van der Merwe
4. Anton Bresler
3. Jannie du Plessis
2. Craig Burden
1. Tendai Mtawarira
Replacements
16. Kyle Cooper
17. Wiehahn Herbst
18. Pieter-Steph du Toit
19. Jacques Botes
20. Charl McLeod
21. Meyer Bosman
22. Odwa Ndungane
27 Feb 2013, 13:31 pm
@Tacitus-343:
Neither did I.
That’s our only chance.
I tend to put the kiss of death on the sides I pick.
27 Feb 2013, 13:32 pm
Robb Houwing is surely the most irritating sports columnist for any neutral (read non-Stormers supporting) reader.
His bias shines through so clearly, despite what he obviously considers to be silky writing that “hides” it.
27 Feb 2013, 13:33 pm
@Tacitus-339: Same side as last year….with added depth…so I thought we had a shot….poor draw has us on the backfoot…..hoping we can show ballas and fight back….
Bulls got no chance either….will be exposed as soon as M Steyn leaves the shores and misses the melktert and koeksisters
Reality is sharks probably have best chance…..play the best brand of rugby as well….Plum far more astute than Bulls and stormers coaches…imo
27 Feb 2013, 13:33 pm
@Dawn-336: Nope typical me, but hey you seem to be very TYPICAL yourself,
27 Feb 2013, 13:33 pm
@grant10-342: Not ready yet. He and Tiaan will be in the mix next week.
27 Feb 2013, 13:34 pm
The bloody brokebacks.
15. Joe Pietersen
14. Gio Aplon
13. Jean de Villiers (captain)
12. Damian de Allende
11. Bryan Habana
10. Elton Jantjies
9. Nic Groom
8. Duane Vermeulen (vice-captain)
7. Rynhardt Elstadt
6. Siya Kolisi
5. Andries Bekker
4. De Kock Steenkamp
3. Frans Malherbe
2. Deon Fourie
1. Steven Kitshoff
Reserves:
16. Martin Bezuidenhout
17. Pat Cilliers
18. Don Armand
19. Nizaam Carr
20. Louis Schreuder
21. Peter Grant
22. Gerhard van den Heever
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