The following from news24:-
"He hasn't ruled it out completely, but Springbok centre Frans Steyn says it’s unlikely he’ll play international rugby again.
Steyn, 27, shocked the rugby fraternity in June this year when he made himself unavailable for Springbok selection shortly before a Test against Wales in Durban, after playing against a World XV in Cape Town the previous week.
It emerged that his decision to pull out of the Springbok squad was due to a monetary dispute with the South African Rugby Union (SARU) regarding his image rights, which were handled by a third party.
Steyn was upset about a promise SARU made to him when he returned from French club, Racing Metro, to play for the Sharks in 2012. Due to the dispute with SARU, Steyn was earning less than half of what he could have made overseas.
In an interview with the EWN Sport website, Steyn said he's made peace with his decision but doesn't expect a return to the international fold.
He described the past six months as a "rollercoaster ride" and a period in his life he does not want over.
However, he feels he made the right decision because his "heart and soul wasn’t in it".
When asked if he thinks he will ever play international rugby again, Steyn said it was a tough question to answer.
He said it would be nice to play for the Boks again, but has "pretty much made peace with it, I don’t think it is going to happen".
Steyn has represented the Boks in 53 Tests since making his debut as a 19-year-old against Ireland in 2006."
Steyn was a star whn he emerge to play Springbok Rugby at 19 - he had and in some respects still has a cult following. However, after playing for Frnce for two years - he cme bak to SA in a wrteched physical condition - seriously overweight with drastically reduced pace.
Because of major injury he played only 7 matches in SA in 2012 - two for the Sharks and 5 for the Springboks. His performances in 2012 could best be described as average - no sin that he had the physical abilities he displayed earlier in his career.
on his return from injury in 2013 - he was shockingly over-weight and he was put on a programme for weight reduction by the Sharks. His performances in the first four Super 15 ranged from acceptable in the first game to disastrously poor in the fourth game in the series - so poor that Plumtree at the time said he is no longer a suitable center. He was dropped to the bench and did not start for the Sharks until injuries forced Plumtree to select him again. Then followed 2 matches - the seond one in which he suffered another serious injury.
This year in Super 15 was not at all acceptable. He was the poorest SA center in Super 15 on attack and the second poorest iin defense, there seemed to be two isssues, namely -
* as he said himself, his heart was not into it: and
* he had a knee problem that cannot be corrected.
Jake White kept him playing - allowing him to miss field training on Mondays and Tuesdays. Steyn was also still poverweight and not a picture of fitness either - he was still overweight and pace-deficient. It shows in his peerformance statistics. At center - he made 1 line break only in all the games he played at center beating only 8 defenders.. He lost more possession and gave away more penalties than any other SA center in Super 15. He is the only SA center who never scored a sngle try in the competiton. His missed tackl ratio was atrocious.
Should he be selected in future? Only if his performances improved by 10 times in future - this year he was way below par. Unless that occurs - he shoulls never be considered zt all.
