Meyer to answer vexed questions

Ex Supersport

The announcement on Saturday of the 30 man Springbok squad for the forthcoming Castle Lager Rugby Championship will see coach Heyneke Meyer provide answers to some of the vexing questions related to his halfback options as he plots the way forward to next year’s Rugby World Cup.

With the 2015 edition of the global rugby showpiece now less than 14 months away, scrumhalf Fourie du Preez is the only player you can take poison on being the first choice in his position when the Boks get to England. It is no secret that Meyer has a massive regard for the Japanese based player, and rightly so, for Du Preez is probably the best scrumhalf in the world right now and has been for some time.

But Du Preez has been ruled out of the Championship through the injury sustained early in the recent test against Scotland, which means that Meyer has to select a new scrumhalf. Ruan Pienaar is not everyone’s choice after struggling against the World XV, while Francois Hougaard wasn’t great as Du Preez’s replacement against Scotland.

It is likely though that both will be part of the squad announced on Saturday, which leaves one scrumhalf place open. Cobus Reinach has a lot of supporters by virtue of his pace, opportunism and individual brilliance, with his opportunistic try scoring getting the Sharks out of a couple of holes during the recent Super Rugby season.

But while he would be a popular choice, the Sharks scrumhalf was exposed in the play-off games, and you would think that his box kicking in particular may be a good way from where Meyer would want it to be. Meyer has a history of selecting flawed players and turning them into the finished article, the mercurial fullback Willie le Roux being the best example of this, so perhaps he sees opportunity now to work with Reinach.

The alternative choice here could be Rory Kockott. Up to now Meyer has not considered the French based player on the basis that Du Preez and Pienaar have been his first choices and he took the selfless attitude of not wanting to kill off Kockott’s chances of having an extended international career with France for the sake of maybe a few minutes in the Bok jersey as the third choice.

However with Du Preez out of the picture for the rest of the year there is an opportunity for Kockott to get an extended run, which may have prompted Meyer to think differently.

While scrumhalf could be problematic in the absence of Du Preez as it could expose lack of depth in the position, the conundrum Meyer now faces at flyhalf is who to leave out. Patrick Lambie is fit again, Handre Pollard has to be persisted with after his great start to his international career against Scotland in Port Elizabeth, Morne Steyn is the banker, and then there is Johan Goosen.

Unless Meyer is prepared to jettison the experience and dependability of Steyn, it could well be that Goosen is the man who will miss out. Meyer wanted to see him perform in the June internationals but injury, a constant plague in Goosen’s career, prevented him from doing that. With Goosen now starting a new career in France, the old rule that overseas based players should only be engaged by the Boks if they are considerably better than the home based contenders should be applied at flyhalf.

So Steyn and Pollard are likely to be the flyhalves named on Saturday, with Lambie being saved by his ability to be equally at home at fullback as he is in the No 10 jersey. That effectively gives Meyer three flyhalf options for the Championship.

For the rest of the squad, most of the selections should be predictable – unless Meyer is going to surprise by backing 19-year-old Sharks front-row sensation Thomas du Toit. Based on his first four tastes of Super Rugby, Du Toit certainly appears to have an international future ahead of him. But is it now? Meyer may want to see more of him, and he is young for a prop, so his chances could depend on whether or not Beast Mtawarira is ready to play again, which he should be.

Eben Etzebeth is back in full training for Western Province so he should be one of the locks, with Lodewyk de Jager having done enough during the June international season to retain his place as the other No 4 lock. That should mean that Bakkies Botha gets to enjoy the rest of his off-season rest without being pressed into more international duty.

With Schalk Burger joining JP Pietersen as the Japanese based players not available for the start of the Championship, there is a gap at blindside flank. Juan Smith has been mentioned as a candidate but it is unlikely he will be called up, and there could be a gap for Jacques Potgieter, who along with referee Craig Joubert is the last remaining South African survivor in this year’s Super Rugby competition, to be selected as a utility forward.

Assuming Jean de Villiers is ready to play, the skipper can fill the outside centre position vacated by Pietersen and thus enable Jan Serfontein to continue at No 12, with JJ Engelbrecht and Damian de Allende (if he is fit) being the other centres. De Allende can also cover wing.

Meyer will select Pienaar and Reinach as scrummies and Morne, Pollard and Lambie (Ulitlity back). Potgieter could well be included but I doubt Meyer will pick Du Toit unless he thinks Du Toit will be ready come WC time. 
It will be a very interesting selection.

 Meyer is likely to pick Matfield and Morne Steyn - but both would really be the weak links in the team.   I think that Matfield is not physically strong enough to make an impression and with De Jager and Etzebeth being available, it would be a wrong move to pick Matfield.   The latter may be in the squad - but I think the best thing he can hope for is a bench selection 0 but even that should be avoided.
Over the past two years Morne Steyn has been a failure in the RC and that would not improve in the upcoming season.   His selection would take away any potential backline advantage for the Springboks and I think his selection would be a serious mistake.  In any event - he is the plaayer with the least playing time of all contenders this year - since he rarely makes the starting line up for his Club and is essentially a bench player for them.   He was ineffective in the July tests and that is a fact.     Would prefer the selection to be Goosen and Pollard.   

I really as not impressed with the performance of Cockott in the World team - so that was to my mind an opportunity lost for him to stake a real claim.   

 My problem with Pienaar is that he doesn't replicate that same fighting spirit he shows when playing for Ulster.  This guy wins matches for Ulster, he appears to be a great thinker, and a decision maker, action man, and a superb play maker when playing for Ulster; but the same can't be said when he plays for the Boks. 


I think Rory Cockott should be given a chance to prove himself.      

 ntanga 
In a way I agree with you about Pienaar and his Ulster performances.   However, it should be borne in mind that the game tempo in the NH i much slower and the players have more time at their disposal to react to circumstances - which certainly allows for Pienaar's good performances for Ulster. 
I think that Pienaar slowed down recently and he is definitely not the same caliber  player he was in years gone by.  Cannot see him being a factor next year as well.   
My worry about Du Preez is also pertinent.  No rugby this year at all - a few "soft" games for his club next year until they fold - normally in April and then no rugby again until the June test series.   He is also getting on in years and long lay-offs and limited game time imay become a serious problem.   Will he be fit enough to play for SA next year?      

It would take a brave or a blind man to start Lambie at flyhalf in the RC.  A pe rson starting Reinach and Lambie has to have a bet on the other team.

 Mozaqrt
I have no problem with Reinach and I do not see anyone suggesting that Lambie should start -  but I have a problem with Morne Steyn - he has let us down in three of the last four tests against the AB's - and that will NOT change.   

 @ Mike; believe you me mate, Morne Steyn is a lot better than Lambie at 10, seriously!  His goal kicking has improved a lot too.  He looks to have recovered from that deep-in-form he had last season when we played the ABs.  
I was one of those who were calling for his head after his dismal display a year ago.  Every player goes through rough patches in once in while, in their career.  I have confidence in Morne Steyn at 10 than Lambie, or Goosen's fitness isn't that great either.   

 Agree ntanga, no need to gamble now. We need solid at least untill we are sure we have someone better at 10.

ntabga
I am not sure that Morne can in fact recover from his last dip in form.  He had been in questionavle form for his Club and has had very little game time since the beginning of this year.   Thinks did not look very bright in the two tests he played in in June either.  and since then he has had very near to zero games as well - he might have been involved in some minor warm-up games at best.   My problem is that of he had a total of maybe 9600 minutes of game time this year it would be a lot.   That equates to a total of 12 full games - but he spent a lot of time on the bench as well and his sending in late in games is included in the above.   That did not leave him a lot of scope to recover his form.
To be quite frank - Steyn showed very little positive in the two tests he played in in June.  What he showed was only his kicks at goal - the rest was sub-par.   So will he recover any form in the last month?  I frankly do not expect it to have happened.   
I would rather have a raw Pollard then an under-cooked Steyn in the team.   Pollard has abilities that was absent from Morne's play throughout the years - hence my comments in the relevant regard. 
I do not think Lambie was match ready last week - but he has more chances of recovering his form than Morne has.  


        

If you want to comment on a player's performance in specific competitions, you have to at least watch him play most of the time and not rely on checking whether he has played or not.

 Ceradyne
I am all for a cease fire - but you are talking tripe as per normal.   I referred to the game time Steyn has had this year - not his performance.  I then went on to say clerly he was under-cooked in the Welsh tests in June - his defense in the first test was poor and he made some bloody awful mistakes in the second test.   
Can you dispute that by any chance?  

Really good article written by Keo at the end of last year about Morne. Good perspective. 

Morné Steyn has made a massive contribution to Springbok and South African rugby, writesMARK KEOHANE.

Had Morné Steyn been more accurate with his goal-kicking in Port Elizabeth, Mendoza and Dunedin in 2012, the Boks would have won all three Tests. Steyn stuttered and the Boks drew two and lost one.

When you want to know how good Steyn is, that statistic is revealing because he is the most capped Springbok flyhalf, with 47 appearances (after the first two rounds of the Rugby Championship).

He has won so many games for the Boks, with his three most famous efforts being the injury-time miracle kick to win the 2009 series against the British & Irish Lions; when he scored all 31 points to beat the All Blacks and secure a home ‘series’ win against them in 2009; and, of course, when he kicked   five penalties and a drop goal to sink the All Blacks 18-5 in Port Elizabeth in 2011.

Steyn holds the Test world record for the longest run of successful goal kicks (41). He is huge to South African rugby. He is integral to the Springboks.

But whenever the call goes out for him to be axed, the Port Elizabeth, Mendoza and Dunedin exhibits are hauled out. The anti-Steyn lobbyists will never forget those misses, but they aren’t as likely to reflect on the days the kicks went over.

Steyn had issues greater than rugby to contend with in the period he kicked just 10 from 22 in a three-Test series against England, couldn’t find the target consistently in Mendoza and produced his worst international goal-kicking performance against the All Blacks in Dunedin.

He was fatigued, troubled by issues beyond his control and his father had been arrested for an alleged theft in a business deal that went south. The charges were later dropped and it was widely reported in the media that his father paid back the R25 000 in question. Steyn, the player, had also become a father for the first time.

But Steyn had to work and live through the trauma that comes with seeing a parent publicly humiliated. He was also contending with the first year of fatherhood. His body had said enough after three successive years of rugby without missing a game, including a testing 2011 World Cup campaign. His mind had greater things to contend with than bisecting the posts.

The player, introverted by nature, never shied away from the rugby responsibility and, speaking to those who know him, he also never shied away from what was expected of him as a parent and a son.

Springbok and former Bulls coach Heyneke Meyer knew exactly what the player was experiencing, but neither coach nor player publicly asked for sympathy or looked for excuses.

‘Morné isn’t playing as well as he could, but I know he will find his best form and he will benefit from being in the Bok environment,’ Meyer said.

Even when world rugby’s most accurate kicker experienced the worst goal-kicking slump of his career, Meyer stated publicly it would be short-lived. He said Steyn would be back, stronger and better than before. The coach knows his player.

Many had an opinion on Steyn. Goal-kicking experts said he had tweaked his technique and was struggling for fluency. There was the theory that Steyn, because of sponsorship commitments, had to wear a new pair of boots for every Test – and his goal-kicking suffered.

Meyer dismissed both theories. He asked the media privately to give his players some breathing space. He alluded to a situation that was more intense and more important than rugby.

Steyn was suffering in silence but was also being made to suffer in public. The man who won  South Africa the British & Irish Lions series in 2009 with the most magnificent of penalties was being booed in Port Elizabeth in 2012 when his game fell apart in the Boks’ third and final Test against England.

The booing was disgraceful, but nothing new among South African supporters. Springbok wing Bryan Habana knows how it feels. Steyn knows how it feels and so many other brilliant Springboks, like the legendary World Cup-winning fullback Percy Montgomery, know how it feels to be jeered at home by a support base that too often is reactionary and won’t show any empathy to their own.

Steyn, a year earlier, had kicked the All Blacks to defeat in Port Elizabeth. A year later he was the villain. Another year later, in 2013, he would again be the hero when he kicked the Boks to a late win against the Pumas in Mendoza.

The public – and many within the media – may not have an appreciation for Steyn, but his team-mates, at the Bulls and the Boks, never need a second invitation to espouse the virtues of a player who has won more games for the Boks than he will ever lose.

Meyer has never excused a poor performance from any of his players or tried to play it down, but he has never viewed players on once-off highs and lows.

Meyer has worked with Steyn as a professional player for a decade. He knows the man behind the boot and he has never doubted the man, let alone the player.

Meyer has often told me it is Steyn’s qualities as a man that make him so influential in a team environment.

‘He is loyal, he is proudly South African and he is an outstanding rugby player. He is more than just a great goal-kicker.’

Meyer knows Steyn’s value – as do the All Blacks and Wallabies, whose coaches have often expressed their respect for Steyn’s capabilities as a player. The cynic would argue they would say that, but be in New Zealand and Australia when the Boks are on tour and the respect for Steyn is not lip service.

His qualities as a match-winner are applauded. His successes are spoken about. His misses, like in Dunedin, are the stuff of surprise.

Meyer has played Johan Goosen, Elton Jantjies and Pat Lambie at flyhalf in his first two seasons as Bok coach. Goosen, when fit, adds a dimension to any attack and Lambie, at his best, is possibly the most rounded of all the options, but when it comes to Test rugby Meyer won’t easily look past Steyn.

There was a time I thought it was misguided loyalty, but no more. I’d always want a fit Goosen in the Bok mix, but then I would also want a fit and firing Steyn in the mix. To quote Meyer, Steyn is a warrior as a person and a match-winner as a player.

We remember the missed kicks because they are so rare, but in doing so we often forget to applaud and celebrate the ones that go over 90% of the time.

South Africans – and I am as guilty as the next supporter – do Steyn a disservice. We berate and abuse him but rarely do we thank him.

clevermike

Status: Hall Of Fame
Posts: 12013 RE: Meyer to answer vexed questions
August 01, 2014, 15:58:13  Ceradyne
I am all for a cease fire - but you are talking tripe as per normal.   I referred to the game time Steyn has had this year - not his performance.  I then went on to say clerly he was under-cooked in the Welsh tests in June - his defense in the first test was poor and he made some bloody awful mistakes in the second test.   
Can you dispute that by any chance? 
I hope you are not trying to tell me that you have never eluded to the fact that the game time is related to his performance/form , are you? I am getting tired of exposing you as a bullshitter.

A necessary article by Keo, Steyn is masssively under appreciated. Lambie and Goosen have a lot to prove before they are better choices.

But this is very typical of Bok fans. The great stuff our best players do almost as an automatic thing, is not valued. So if JJ beats one tackle we will hear about it for weeks....who hasn't heard how he beat Savea. But if Morne goals three from the touchline it's regarded as a nothing.

Other examples are Habana scoring an individualistic try....Matfield winning lineouts on opposition throw...JDV cracking a gap and offloading...Bismarck stealing a ball on the deck....or Alberts making metres with tacklers hanging off him. Hell even Willie cracking the opposition backline  seems to evoke less interest than it should. His attacking genius is almost taken for granted, but if Serfontein steps inside a tackle it's treated as a minor miracle.
These kinds of match winning skills are apparently not as enticing to Bok fans as something totally expected from a new favourite.

 Dof Doos
Morne/s performances in the RC last year deteriorated badly - he was piss poor in the tests in Mendoza and against the AB's - that is a fact.   He showed ZERO in the EOYT as well.  To get better - ie to a level Morne has never really achieved during the past two years  - he had to have game time.   He did not get adequate time and then came back to play in the Welsh tests and showed zero improvement in performance. 
Look - Doos - Morne is a flop masquerading as a flyhalf and as long as h is in the team - we can expect to struggle against teams we should beat with ease and lose against th AB's, because of his rubbish performance as the pivot in the backline.
The bullshitters on this site are those who advocate the inclusion of habitual losers in the  Springbok team and Morne is a habitual loser.    So bugger off new and stop your idiocy.               

Imagine someone who was positively jumping up and down with glee when Lambie was chosen at 10 for the Sharks lecturing other posters on losers. Three missed kicks, almost half of the tackles missed, penalties missing touch and kickoffs directly into touch apparently don't qualify as losing acts in the Ooms books.