Ken Borland

Morne Steyn is not just a sharpshooter with the boot but also one of the straightest arrows one would hope to meet as a person, and on Tuesday he confirmed he is delighted to be in the Springboks’ plans for the British and Irish Lions tour because he did not return to Pretoria to merely wind down his career.

Steyn’s Bulls team have had the wood over all other local opposition over the last year and the 36-year-old flyhalf has played a key role in their success, his game-management being spot-on and his kicking as accurate as ever, while he has also helped their backline to be especially penetrative.

The Springboks brains trust of Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber have recognised that Steyn still has all the attributes one would want from a Test flyhalf, so he has been part of their alignment camps this year.

“I’m in the Springbok group and hoping for the best. I’m a very competitive guy, whether I’m playing against Griquas or whoever, I always want to be the best flyhalf on the field. I didn’t come to Loftus to sit on the bench or help the youngsters, and playing for the Springboks is always your main goal playing in South Africa, although I didn’t feel any pressure to do it.

“It would be a bonus, not something you bargain on when you played your last Test in 2016. Now it’s five years later and I could be one of the senior guys who the youngsters look up to, like Victor Matfield and Fourie du Preez were when I made my Springbok debut against the Lions in 2009. Few people get to play the Lions twice, so I would be very blessed if it happens,” Steyn said on Tuesday.

Steyn did not play for South Africa again after a then-record 57-15 defeat against the All Blacks in Durban in October 2016, but now, after all these years, the Springboks look set to return to the veteran of 66 Tests, alongside World Cup winners Handre Pollard and Elton Jantjies.

“It’s a whole different era now, the last time I played the Lions, I was the new oke and they were my first Tests. Now things are going very well with the Bulls, experience plays a role and the body is still feeling good. I do look after my body, I enjoy stretching and recovery and I did gymnastics at school, so I think that flexibility helps. I can still do what the younger guys do.

“Now my career is coming the whole circle and I hope to finish on a high. With the quality youngsters coming through at the Bulls there’s certainly a bright future there and as long as I’m still running at the front, as long as I don’t struggle to get up in the morning or come to training, I’ll take it year-by-year. The body still feels good and my mind is ready to go,” Steyn said.

Springbok backline coach Mzwandile Stick said if you ever wanted to ‘cut-and-paste’ game-management into a side then Morne Steyn is as good a template as you can find, and the veteran flyhalf is hoping to bring some much-needed tactical prowess with the boot to the team for their crucial second Test against Ireland at Ellis Park on Saturday.

Steyn has completed his season with Stade Francais and was back in South Africa preparing to go on holiday when he answered the S.O.S. from the Springbok camp, with Pat Lambie and Handre Pollard both injured. The 31-year-old is likely to be named on the bench as back-up for Elton Jantjies and has every chance of adding to his 60 caps if the home side finds itself in trouble.

“Last Saturday our kicking wasn’t at the usual top standard, and what we’re trying to bring is more kicking into our game and that’s one of my strengths, so hopefully I can bring that to the team. All the teams we play against in Europe are quality, they all have good kicking games, but they’re all trying to run the ball a bit more as well. You can see the standard has improved a lot and England and Ireland were able to show it last weekend. At Stade Francais I’ve been able to gain more experience of playing in that weather, as well as relaxing and enjoying my rugby more,” Steyn said.

The former Bulls star’s international hopes seemed to have suffered a terminal blow last year when he played only 24 minutes of Test rugby, coming off the bench against the USA in the World Cup. But it’s not the first time Steyn has been discarded and returned as his mastery of the basic skills of international flyhalf play don’t go out of fashion.

“I watched a lot of SuperRugby and guys like Elton Jantjies, Pat Lambie and Garth April were all doing so well, and I knew I was a bit older than those guys … plus it’s a new era, which is good for South African rugby. So I guess I wasn’t really expecting to be called up … a guy like Handre Pollard, who is injured now, is in the picture as well so you never know what will happen.

“But rugby certainly is a strange game! Just when you think you’re out of it, you’re back in the thick of it. But I’m here now and determined to make a positive contribution. I spoke to my wife about it as well. We just said we’re going to see how it goes. It’s great to be back and I’m enjoying playing with all the new guys in the Springbok squad, only three or four guys have more than 50 caps. I had four weeks holiday planned, but it’s great to be back on the field!

“Family time is great, but I will give it my all for the Springboks. In every training session, every game I play from here I’m going to give it 100%. Maybe I can keep going for another two or three years,” Steyn said.

Marnitz Boshoff - 22 points including two drop goals

The Lions enjoyed 22 points from the boot of flyhalf Marnitz Boshoff as they beat the Bulls 32-21 (half-time 9-6) in their SuperRugby match at Ellis Park on Saturday and all but eliminated them from playoffs contention.

Boshoff kicked two conversions and four penalties in a faultless goal-kicking display and also added two impressive drop goals.

The Lions, playing with tremendous energy considering they have just flown back from Australia, produced some top-class counter-attacking rugby as they capitalised on a host of Bulls mistakes.

They also scrambled superbly in defence and a Bulls side missing the composure brought by the rested Victor Matfield looked rattled throughout the game.

The Lions showed their character from the outset as they recovered the ball from a lost lineout in the second minute and Boshoff claimed his first drop goal (3-0).

While the Lions struggled in the lineouts, they gave the Bulls a working over in the scrums and the visitors were penalised in that set-piece in the fifth minute, allowing Boshoff to slot a penalty (6-0).

Bulls flyhalf Jacques-Louis Potgieter missed a penalty in the seventh minute and was then penalised for not releasing in the tackle, Boshoff stretching the Lions’ lead to 9-0.

The Bulls fought their way back into the match, however, their big ball-runners making inroads, and two Potgieter penalties narrowed the gap to 6-9 at the break.

The Bulls replaced loosehead prop Dean Greyling in the first scrum of the second half, bringing on Morne Mellet, and immediately won a penalty, allowing Potgieter to level the scores in the 45^th minute.

But the Lions regained their inspiration straight afterwards as Bulls lock Grant Hattingh failed to claim the kickoff in a key moment. The ball bounced into eighthman Warren Whiteley’s hands and the Lions captain quickly fed centre Alwyn Hollenbach, who went blind before jinking inside to score a fine try.

Boshoff added the conversion (16-9) and the Lions continued to separate themselves from their error-strewn opponents as the deadeye flyhalf kicked another drop goal and a penalty before flank Warwick Tecklenburg scored a try after a thrilling break by replacement Elton Jantjies. He sent Stokkies Hanekom, who had a dream game, haring towards the line with a brilliant flip inside, but the  outside centre was stopped just short of the line before popping the ball up for Tecklenburg to score.

There was some cheer for the flat Bulls as replacement centre William Small-Smith and flank Jacques du Plessis scored late tries, but Boshoff provided the fairytale ending for the Lions with an 80^th-minute penalty after a scrum infringement.

While the Lions have climbed off the bottom of the log with the victory, the Bulls are now in ninth place with 33 points and locked in a dire struggle with the Highlanders (38), Hurricanes (37), Western Force (36) and Chiefs (35) for a place in the top six and progression to the playoffs.

Scorers

Lions – Tries: Alwyn Hollenbach, Warwick Tecklenburg. Conversions: Marnitz Boshoff (2). Penalties: Boshoff (4). Drop goals: Boshoff (2).

Bulls – Tries: William Small-Smith, Jacques du Plessis. Conversion: Jacques-Louis Potgieter. Penalties: Potgieter (3).

Flyhalf Elton Jantjies worked his magic with the boot as he kicked the Lions to a hard-fought 27-25 (half-time 12-19) victory over the Cheetahs in their all-South African SuperRugby match at Ellis Park on Saturday.

Jantjies scored all 27 of the Lions’ points through nine penalties, a SuperRugby record, missing just two attempts at goal.

Jannie Kruger (Northern Transvaal 1996), Willie Walker (Otago, 2003), Meyer Bosman (Cheetahs, 2006) and Derick Hougaard (Bulls, 2007) had all previously kicked eight penalties in a match.

Opposite number Johan Goosen ensured the Lions had to work exceptionally hard for their victory, however, as he kicked even more impressively, landing all seven of his attempts at goal, including a 48m snap drop goal and a phenomenal 57m penalty.

The Lions effectively won the game when the 19-year-old Goosen was out of action, the Cheetahs flyhalf being yellow-carded between the 54th and 64th minutes for twice not rolling away in the tackle, before leaving the field with a head injury in the 68th minute.

Both scrumhalf Tewis de Bruyn and replacement flyhalf Sias Ebersohn missed relatively straightforward penalties while Goosen was off the field.

The Cheetahs ensured that they led from the ninth to the 71st minute as they scored the only try of the match, with prop WP Nel muscling his way over the tryline from close range in the ninth minute.

“If you concede two yellow cards and 16 penalties then you’re not going to win. We didn’t play badly, but bad discipline cost us. Johan Goosen kicked really well, but tactically, especially in the second half, we could have controlled the game better,” Cheetahs coach Naka Drotske said.

With both teams often floundering at the breakdowns, Goosen was presented with several penalties, but it was a credit to Jantjies’ composure that he also kept chipping away at the other end.

“The breakdown was always going to be scrappy, but it was a learning curve for us. It was definitely frustrating, maybe the guys aren’t used to the referee’s calls this early in the season, we struggled with the timing of getting our hands off the ball and leaving daylight. But Elton is an exceptional player, he’s proved it time and time again,” Lions captain Joshua Strauss said.

The match-winning penalty came with seven minutes remaining as Cheetahs replacement flank Ashley Johnson hit centre Doppies la Grange with a high tackle and Jantjies calmly slotted the kick from 40 metres out.

Scorers

Lions – Penalties: Elton Jantjies (9).

Cheetahs – Try: WP Nel. Conversion: Johan Goosen. Penalties: Goosen (5). Drop goal: Goosen.