This is a big thing for the Sharks, a team needs a captain who is not afraid to make big choices but smart enough to see the obvious. Is Steyn up to the task ? I think he may have to contain his gungho attitude at times but I think he is a smarter player than he is often given credit for.
This brings me to the question, who is the top captain in SA ?.
Goodman
A very good question. Problem is outr captains are not necessarily our best performers in the positions they play in. You must never have a captain that is not an autoatic player for selection. Having looked at all the franchises I have really no problem with Strauss as captain - he meets all the required criteria.
The others all have problems -
* De Villiers is to my mind not a strong leader - he tries very hard - but does he get the best out of his team players? A very good PR image and communication is no problem
* Spies is a funny player - he tends to vanish for 75 minutes in any game - and it is no good to have a captain of that nature.
* Luke Watson i carrying so much baggage and his PR image is dismal.
There are diffrences of opinion on Daniel - I think he is a top captain - in inspiring the team, leading by example and seting a very good example on and off the field.
Styn is a stand-in cptain and there is no way he can be assessed objectively at this stage.
We dont have any stand out leaders in SA at the moment, but then again how does a spectator judge the credentials of a leader without actually being involved in the side?
Some leaders stand out like Smit did and Graeme Smith does now for the Protea's. Josh Strauss of the Lions looked to be a good leader
Saffex
Josh Strauss - after the debacle he caused in the Lions set-up insofar as Mitchell is concerned? Not so sure abou that one. In essence we do not have stand-out captains at present. Some of the yunger players may yet rpove in time to time real leadership qualities.
In the Under 20 WC - Small Smith (who took over in the absence of Liebenberg) stood out head-and-shoulders above the rest - but indications are he is not making it into teams on franchise level He is playing cracking rugby in the Varsity Cup - but the Bulls hate good centers like Serfontein and Small Smith - thry prefer mediocrities instead.
Thi could be the move that ignites Steyns true potential. Maybe with the added responsibility of being captain, he'll start to think more in terms of the team, than himself only. I have said all along that I don't like Steyn, not because of a lack of talent or capability, but because of his lack of a ability to think. I really think this may be the remedy to his achilies heel.
I'm talking about Josh as a leader on the field, he stood out. What happened with Mitchell has stuff all to do with his leadership qualities
Small-Smith is not big enough for top flight rugby
agreed blobok, Frans Steyn being Captain will make him think about the teams responsibilities instead of just his own.
He will be less concerned with hogging the ball and his next meal, as it will now be his responsibale for making sure all the players play well.
Josh Strauss is respected by his peers ... of that there's no doubt. A good capatin and leader ... and he speaks well.
However, having said that, is he good enough to displace our current blinside flanker , Willem Alberts?
I dont think so.
Jean's captaincy last season wasn't bad ... unfortunately there are better option at 12 than he.
Adriaan Strauss - a great leader but not the front runner for the Bok 2 jersey.
Schalk Burger? He will more than likely take the Bok 6 jersey when fit. Perhaps he's the best of the sorry lot.
Schalk is no longer good enough to take the Bok 6 jersey especially considering he is not really a 6. Louw's strength for the Boks at 6 was his turnover count, Schalk does not fulfil this role. If Schalk wants to play for the Boks he needs to challenge Alberts at 7.
Josh Strauss is out of the equation, he is playing for Glasgow and wants to qualify to play for the Scots
Schalk isn't an opensider, never has been, yet thats where he's played his international rugby at.
He has a similar style to Jerry Colins.
He could never compete with Alberts for the 7 jersey.
That's not the point.
You brought Josh up, now your doing a 180.
Make up your mind.
I have never liked Schalk ... he was selected none the less.
I would be very surprised if Meyer doesn't select him at 6 and make him captain.
Frans Steyn is physically the perfect modern flyhlaf....huge boot, strong enough to offload in the tackle and a heavy defender, if not always secure out wide. Everything points to 10....except his decision making. He made the wrong decisions under stress.
It's his decision making, not selfishness that's at fault. Fans' idea that all a centre does is pass the ball to the wings is completely outdated....a centre has to break the line to get momentum. Fransie's instincts in that regard are completely right. It's the when, where and how of the issue, that let him down.
Why captaincy, which adds another layer of thought process to a mind that seems burdened by decision making, will help his play is not clear to me.
Capcap, try catch a wake up - I was talking about good leaders and brought Josh up as an example - at no point did I say he was in contention for the Bok captaincy - he has turned his back on us.
Thats why Frans is perfect for 12, has the attributes of a 10 but brings a physical edge at 12.
One can't discard Frans at 10 for he never had an extended run there. As a youngster he found himself in a different position each week.
Frans will prove the answer at 12 for the Boks this year. The art will be finding the perfect partner for him and that is not Jean or de Jongh
JDV all day in my mind. He has the respect of everyone on the team as well as the referees, the experience to back it up, he;s one classy guy and he played well for the Boks. Until there is someone who clearly and consistently (key word) outplays him there is no reason to change. That may happen this S15, or may not. He showed fantastic durability all season.
Seems like H Meyer committed to him already last year, which was probably premature.
Saffex
Back to the old debate about Francois Steyn. He no doubt has the size - but does he have the speed and instinctive quick decisionmaking requirements neeed by a 12? Only the Super 15 this year will really answer the question.
Here at work the larnie gave some guy promotion and we all were cross because he was a difficult outjie. Since then he has been more responsible and his whole attitude changed nê. So I think this will be good for Fransie too. Maybe it will help with the vindictive side, to make him more careful of doing silly things 'cause he is a damn good player.
Mike he be better at 12 than the current outjie because Juan is a bit verlep already like a pap snoek on the pier.
Wrong Mike, Frans has nothing to prove, he proved his worth many years ago. He is hardly a new kid on the block
Oi you are wrong, Jean has been past it for about 2 seasons now - he is cooked and part of the reason we failed last year. We need to move on and he certainly showed very little as a leader.
Bok rugby has to move on from the deadwood - we started with Morne last season but then Meyer took a backwards step and included Steenkamp and CJ
Saffex
"Many years ago" in the case of Francois Steyn counts for nothing - it is his performances in 2013 that counts.. He showed very little of real value in 2012 - is 2014 going to be a repeat - or will he be back to what he was "many years ago" - that remains the answer needed this year.
Frans played very little rugby in 2012 and when he did he was good and solid and definately better than Jean at 12.
Yes he has to produce the goods this year as do all the players. My money is on Frans kicking arse and making the Bok 12 spot his own
Mike your Vendetta against Steyn is tiresome, 2012 was a year of little rugby for Steyn. At the end of 2011 and beginning of 2012 he was injured, he moved clubs where he played little to no matches for the Sharks and he got injured in the RC. Steyn is a fantastic center and proved that in the RWC before he got injured, his partnership with Jordaan is one I am most looking forward to seeing!
I'm surprised stern was named sharks captin! I for one would of had bismarck as the sharks captin this year and then a future bok captin as he is a amazing player and is also really good putting on inspiring performances and many people look up to him people say SA has no real Leader ATM ummmm Lowe? He is amazing for bath! A good captin to bath and a good player!
Shezza
I have no campaign against Steyn - all I want expect from him is that he performs to prove that he is the best player for selection and not get automatic selected about some vague concept of past glories. For me the key remains repeated high level performances to qualify for selection - nothing else.
My problem in 2012 was that he showed nothing worthwhile and in fact when he played at 12 for the Springboks statistically wise he was way below par. He looked sleeker and much better in the warm-up game I saw and am hopeful - but we will see from Saturday onwards whether he makes the grade.
Am also looking forward to see Steyn and Jordaan combine for the Sharks at center.
Bottom line ... it comes down to selecting the inform player ... not on on history ... not on reputation ... only the best man right now, for the job.
Steyn is physically capable defensively, but on attack?? ... sadly he's a bit of a plodder, selfish with ball in hand, a glory seeker, loses his head at times ... an earlier comment in this thread I thought apt is his inability to make decisions under pressure.
In other words ... he's a liability before he even runs onto the pitch.
He needs to be captained and kept in control. He should never be left to do his own thing.
He's a child in constant need of a babysitter.
No way he'll make my match 22.
Selecting the inform player is stupid, means your team is never settled because the players haven't learnt to play with each other properly. Class is permenant form is temporary.
Um Keegan, how on earth can Bismark captain the side when he is out injured.
Capcap your rugby ignorance shines bright. For a start if Frans is that slow then how the hell did he keep up with JP in the pre season training sprint trials huh?
You obviously are completely out of touch with the reality of the modern game. Take it in your mind a 12 still has the space at test level to carve defences up and that the art of taking contact and offloading has completely slipt your grasp.
To say that Frans is indecisive, selfish and a glory seeker smacks of a ignorant observer caught is a timewarp and who's views are based on the many years back when Frans played 10 and was caught out a few times trying to clear the ball.
Your modern take on him is out of touch and frankly complete bullshit
I know saf I should of said that I'm surprised as this seems to be more of a perment thing tbh not just for T it which surprised me!
Nope I think Daniel will be captain on his return. Bismark has shown very little as a leader so not sure why you think he should be the Bok captain. He is without doubt the best hooker in the game but we know nothing of his leadership, much like we know nothing of Frans's
Listen up Belly Boy …
It doesn’t matter how much time you spend talking ol useless Steyn up … it won’t change the fact that he’s not Bok material.
Your delusional fabrications are hilarious.
He's slow … not only on his feet but as a thinker as well. He’s as thick as a brick and a liability to any team.
He’s at best an average club player.
Accept it, Belly Boy!!
Perhaps you should sober up a bit ... it might help clear your vision.
.
Dave...... Frans gained less than 2 m a carry in 2012...Jean was close to 4. How was Frans better?
Moz stats are like a bikini, they show much but don't show everything. They provide no context at all.
Frans was better and his player ratings confirm this. Jean played 12 tests last year of which he was probably ok in four of them. For the rest he was poor and most have concluded as much.
Capcap anything you have to say about Frans is discredited by your pathetic take on Basteraud being a dominating world player. If we thought you were rugby ignorant before this call, you certainly confirmed it with that howler
Good one hot air, keep them coming
Saffex
Without being negative there was really nothing in Francois Steyn's performances for the Sharks and the Spingboks that deserve any praise. In general he was bloody awful and not much better than his namesake Morne insofar as attacking backline play was concerned
