Hampered by a campaign to get him banned, rust, a position change and a struggling scrumhalf Frans was not at his best. But his sheer physicality kept the Sharks in the game long enough for the stunning 35 metre pass he threw to SP Marais to get the Sharks in the game. Vision and the courage to execute.
Just another game the Sharks win with Frans at 10, picking up from last year. Give me a fighter every time. Here are the big man's numbers:
FHSteyn0/1014/8/11500012 11/10/000/0
The Sharks scored two tries to none, however the Force arguably had more scoring opportunities, but frequently either butchered them with poor finishing or had them ruled out by the TMO. The Force led 6-0 at halftime after an opening 40 minutes that would come close to being remembered as the least inspiring half of rugby seen in Durban since the notorious 2004 6-5 win by the Reds. The first try came immediately after halftime and was much needed as the Sharks were struggling to stay in the game at that point, with the Force only just being denied as they pressed towards the line before halftime.
It was Odwa Ndungane who made the initial thrust with an impressive run up the right flank before the ball was transferred to the left, a long skip pass from Frans Steyn finding fullback Marais who went over in the corner. The conversion wasn’t slotted, and Steyn also had missed an earlier penalty attempt on a night when, to be brutally honest, not much went right for either team.
Indeed, perhaps the most memorable part of the miserable first half, in which both teams made unforgivable errors – but more so the fitful Sharks – was when Ebersohn laid out his teammate, hooker Nathan Charles, by kicking the ball against the back of his head. It was that kind of game – a comedy of errors.
The Sharks did enjoy an advantage in the scrums, where they were able to force several penalties, but they struggled to put their game together. Perhaps the turning point in the game was when Fred Zeilinga was brought on to take up the flyhalf position as the hour mark neared, with Steyn returning to inside centre in place of Andre Esterhuizen.
The Sharks did appear to have more direction when Zeilinga was at flyhalf, and it was the Glenwood old boy who stepped up to take the kick that put the Sharks into the lead for the first time in the game in the 62nd minute.
The Sharks were never headed again, but they were fortunate to get away with their sloppiness on a night when the visitors conspired against themselves as much as the Sharks won the game. Still, this was the second consecutive narrow win for the Sharks and if it signifies that winning is starting to become a habit, that is something for the Durbanites to cling to as they wait to host the Crusaders on Easter Saturday.
In the second half the Sharks, who perhaps understandably took some time to find their combinations after changes that were made to the side that beat the Chiefs, found some of their missing rhythm, but the game was still in the balance with 12 minutes to go.
That was when former Cheetahs flyhalf Sias Ebersohn was lining up a penalty kick almost in front of the posts with his team trailing by just two points. In other words, a successful kick would put his team back into the lead they had held for just a few minutes beyond the hour mark. It should have been slotted, but Ebersohn has a reputation for being a spray-gun at the most inopportune moments, and so it proved as the kick was pushed to the left.
Seconds later a poor clearance kick by the Force from the 22 restart was grabbed by Sharks fullback SP Marais and he burst through the bulk of the Force team before sending Mvovo away for a try that put the Sharks ahead by more than a score for the first time.
It was going to be hard for the Force to come back from there in such a low-scoring game, but they made a good fist of it, and for the second time in the match the TMO ruled against the Force after they had carried the ball to the line.
But it was that effective 10-point swing with 12 minutes to go that sealed the win for the Sharks, their third in succession and one that lifts them above the Stormers into top spot on the South African conference log table.
The first try came immediately after halftime and was much needed as the Sharks were struggling to stay in the game at that point, with the Force only just being denied as they pressed towards the line before halftime.
It was Odwa Ndungane who made the initial thrust with an impressive run up the right flank before the ball was transferred to the left, a long skip pass from Frans Steyn finding fullback Marais who went over in the corner. The conversion wasn’t slotted, and Steyn also had missed an earlier penalty attempt on a night when, to be brutally honest, not much went right for either team.
Indeed, perhaps the most memorable part of the miserable first half, in which both teams made unforgivable errors – but more so the fitful Sharks – was when Ebersohn laid out his teammate, hooker Nathan Charles, by kicking the ball against the back of his head. It was that kind of game – a comedy of errors.
The Sharks did enjoy an advantage in the scrums, where they were able to force several penalties, but they struggled to put their game together. Perhaps the turning point in the game was when Fred Zeilinga was brought on to take up the flyhalf position as the hour mark neared, with Steyn returning to inside centre in place of Andre Esterhuizen.
The Sharks did appear to have more direction when Zeilinga was at flyhalf, and it was the Glenwood old boy who stepped up to take the kick that put the Sharks into the lead for the first time in the game in the 62nd minute.
The Sharks were never headed again, but they were fortunate to get away with their sloppiness on a night when the visitors conspired against themselves as much as the Sharks won the game. Still, this was the second consecutive narrow win for the Sharks and if it signifies that winning is starting to become a habit, that is something for the Durbanites to cling to as they wait to host the Crusaders on Easter Saturday.
The Sharks, of course, were without several Boks who will return for that game, and the most welcome returnee will no doubt be Patrick Lambie who was sorely missed for his direction and tactical acumen on a night when Steyn once again emphatically underlined that pivot is not his best position."
Lets face facts - the performance of Steyn was BS in capital letters. He was the main cause of the directionless display of the Sharks. To claim that "Frans would be good value for money at all three of 10,12 or 15." is the worst assessment of a player's performance in years. Taking into account his past four performances France is worthless at 10 and even worse at 12. But then we muast bear in mind that the quoted statement is from the Village Idiot who have turned rugby idiocy into a fine art.
