Ken Borland

Perhaps Heyneke Meyer didn’t want to spoil the actual team announcement on Wednesday, or he’s afraid of irreparably damaging fragile psyches, but the Springbok coach on Saturday night announced an expanded 30-man squad with three flyhalves and three fullbacks included for the home Rugby Championship Tests against Australia and New Zealand.

That meant that despite adding the Lions duo of Elton Jantjies and Jaco Taute to the mix, there was still place for Morne Steyn and Zane Kirchner, the two most unpopular selections in his teams this year.

Thankfully, the selection of the Springbok team is not a popularity contest, because that would be catastrophically fickle, but Lady Luck has clearly turned her face away from Steyn, with even his kicking boots deserting him. She could well look in Steyn’s direction again, but what the 28-year-old clearly needs is a break from the game and the chance to rediscover himself, his form and confidence, perhaps in Currie Cup rugby with the Bulls.

Instead, the embattled flyhalf will have to pitch up for Springbok duty again, face the uncertainty of playing for his place and feel all the pressure and ugly, nasty public vitriol all over again. For someone who prides himself on getting the best out of his players, it seems cruel that Meyer will subject Steyn to that again, rather than a sympathetic arm around the shoulder and a “Listen, you’re still a great player but I think you need a break” chat.

Or is Meyer hoping that a few sleeps at home will be a miracle cure for Steyn and the confidence that has so steadily been eroded all year will suddenly return?

Common sense would dictate that the starting flyhalf berth will now be between the 20-year-old Goosen, who has looked to the manner born in his half-an-hour of Test rugby thus far, and Jantjies, surely the most in-form pivot in South Africa at the moment, whose all-round brilliance has led the Lions to the top of the Currie Cup log.

But will Meyer back them? The fact that he has not yet summoned the courage to drop Steyn suggests he struggles to have complete confidence in players he does not know intimately.

The same has happened at fullback, where Pat Lambie and Taute could bring some attacking flair, if only Meyer would back them. Zane Kirchner has been solid and done little wrong, but he does not bring any inspiration to a backline that has only played in fits and starts.

The hedging of bets can also be seen in the selection of four tighthead props in Jannie du Plessis, Pat Cilliers, CJ van der Linde and Coenie Oosthuizen, although the latter two are also comfortable in the number one jersey. But at least some good sense can be seen in that over-supply, because both Du Plessis and Cilliers have been struggling with injury.

Lock Eben Etzebeth is also back in the fold after being suspended for an ineffectual headbutt and the battle for three second-row places in the 22-man squad will be intriguing.

Flip van der Merwe, Juandre Kruger and Andries Bekker did their chances no harm at all with their committed performances in Dunedin and Meyer may well want to bed down the forward combinations that surprised everyone by dominating the All Blacks on their home turf. But Etzebeth has enjoyed a dream year thus far.

Squad:

Pat Lambie, Zane Kirchner, Bryan Habana, Jean de Villiers, Juan de Jongh, Francois Steyn, Jaco Taute, Francois Hougaard, Lwazi Mvovo, Johan Goosen, Elton Jantjies, Morne Steyn, Ruan Pienaar, Duane Vermeulen, Willem Alberts, Jacques Potgieter, Francois Louw, Marcell Coetzee, Juandre Kruger, Andries Bekker, Flip van der Merwe, Eben Etzebeth, Jannie du Plessis, Pat Cilliers, Adriaan Strauss, Tiaan Liebenberg, Craig Burden, Tendai Mtawarira, CJ van der Linde, Coenie Oosthuizen.

– http://dailymaverick.co.za/article/2012-09-23-rugby-lady-luck-vs-morne-steyn

South Africa coach Heyneke Meyer on Saturday included three flyhalves and a trio of fullbacks in an expanded 30-man squad for the Springboks’ two home Rugby Championship tests against Australia and New Zealand.

Even Heyneke Meyer is surely no longer in denial and key changes in personnel can be expected in the Springbok squad when it is announced on Saturday night after the seventh round of Currie Cup action.

Chief among these should be at flyhalf. While Meyer has quite rightly pointed to consistency of selection as the basis for success, his faith in Morne Steyn has not paid off. If anything, the hero of 2009 and 2010 is trapped in a downward spiral, his confidence draining away with every outing.

It is surely time for Steyn to take a break from Test rugby and regain his form and confidence in the Currie Cup. The Bulls, in dire straits in that competition, will surely welcome him back into their team with open arms.

The replacement for Steyn in the squad should be Lions pivot Elton Jantjies, the most in-form flyhalf in the country. The longer Meyer ignores the 22-year-old, who steered the Lions against the odds to the Currie Cup title last year, the more fuel he is throwing on the fire of those (like predecessor Peter de Villiers) who are targeting him on transformation grounds.

The starting flyhalf against Australia at Loftus Versfeld next Saturday will inevitably be young and inexperienced, with either Jantjies or Johan Goosen getting the nod, but Meyer has little choice but to grasp the nettle now.

Meyer has waxed lyrical about how he sees the makings of a great flyhalf in Goosen and the 20-year-old has done nothing to suggest otherwise in the half-an-hour of Test rugby he has played thus far. Against a struggling Australian team, at fortress Loftus with a crowd that will be behind him, there won’t be many easier times in which to hand over the baton.

Jantjies also looks like a man for the future of Springbok rugby. He has it all: the ability to spark a backline and a good passing game; a powerful, well-educated and accurate boot; and he is brave and secure in defence.

Pat Lambie is another impressive youngster who has many supporters, but it is perhaps being overly romantic to suggest he should be the Springboks’ starting flyhalf.

At Test level, a flyhalf has to be able to control the game, usually with the boot. While Lambie’s attacking talents are not in doubt, his game management skills still need developing and even the Sharks preferred Freddie Michalak to him at number 10.

But there has been a suggestion that Lambie, who was injured for much of the SuperRugby campaign and has barely featured off the Springbok bench, has been rested from this weekend’s Currie Cup action because Meyer is lining him up to start at fullback.

Zane Kirchner has done little wrong and has been solid and dependable at the back, but Lambie can definitely add more flair and penetration with ball in hand. And he can even stand at flyhalf when the Springboks are on attack.

Kirchner ran just eight metres with the ball in Dunedin and kicked just once, so one can hardly say he is making a big impact at the moment.

Where the Springboks did make a big impact was up front with Adriaan Strauss (15m gained, 4 tackles), Flip van der Merwe (5m, 13 tackles), Francois Louw (11m, 6 tackles) and Willem Alberts (10m, 6 tackles) all boasting impressive statistics.

It is unlikely that Meyer will make any unforced changes to his forwards, having already declared himself happy with their efforts and excited by their potential.

One change is definite, however, with prop Dean Greyling suspended for idiotically hitting Richie McCaw in the face with his forearm. Coenie Oosthuizen will make his return from a neck injury off the bench for the Cheetahs and it will be interesting to see how much game time he gets. Whether it will be enough to convince Meyer that the versatile front-ranker is ready for international rugby remains to be seen.

While Louw’s work-rate was good against the All Blacks, it did rather prove Meyer’s point about fetchers when the Springboks were penalised a dozen times at the ruck and maul. But a stellar display by Heinrich Brussow for the Cheetahs could see him return to favour.

The forwards have done their job in the last two Tests, winning the bulk of possession. But it is now imperative that Meyer chooses a backline to capitalise on that ball, in particular a flyhalf who uses possession a lot more wisely than Steyn has lately.

http://dailymaverick.co.za/article/2012-09-22-hey-heyneke-meyer-check-your-blind-spot

South Africa coach Heyneke Meyer believes the current Springbok team will become stars of the future despite a lean recent run that has seen them lose to New Zealand and Australia and be held to a draw by Argentina.

“I have a special feeling about this team going forward. We’re on the right track and the results will come,” Meyer told journalists at the O.R. Tambo International Airport on Monday after the team’s return from New Zealand, where they were beaten 21-11 by the All Blacks in Dunedin.

“I thought we scrummed well and I’m very happy with our front row. The combination we used in the loose forwards was superb against the best loose trio in the world and we have four great locks going forward.

“There were lots of positives from Dunedin, especially from the forwards, and I believe we did enough to win that game. I think it instilled that self-belief in the team that they can beat anyone anywhere,” Meyer said.

South Africa dominated the first 50 minutes of the Rugby Championship test, but missed kicks at goal cost them 20 points.

Flyhalf Morne Steyn, the hero of their 2009 and 2010 campaigns, was responsible for 11 of those missed points and the waning influence of the Springbok backline has also been blamed on the 28-year-old pivot. But Meyer believes Steyn, who has started all seven matches this year under the new coach, still has a future at international level, pointing to the resurgence in form shown by wing Bryan Habana, South Africa’s all-time leading try-scorer who struggled with his form last year and played just six of the Springboks’ nine tests.

“I don’t want to knock individuals but the missed kicks were crucial. Morne is mentally tough though and if you look at what happened to Bryan Habana, with the right guidance he is now playing phenomenal rugby again. I don’t want to boost myself, but I’ve always been great at getting the best out of players and the mental break will do Morne well. We’ll look at the situation after this weekend’s Currie Cup matches and then decide who will play,” Meyer said.

Meyer said the way the Springboks dominated the All Blacks in Dunedin showed that the controversial game plan they were using was the right one.

“The guys were very unhappy not to win, but sometimes we’ve played worse rugby in New Zealand and won, it was just the goalkicking that let us down. Otherwise we did enough to win, it was the right game plan and we kept them under pressure, we just couldn’t convert that into points.

“It was 3-5 at half-time, but it could have been 15-5 if we’d made our kicks, that would have built pressure and they would have had to chase the game. There’s always criticism about the game plan, but I believe we got it 100% right, we just didn’t put the kicks over. We had them under pressure,” Meyer said.

The Springbok squad for their last two Rugby Championship matches, both at home against Australia in Pretoria on September 29 and New Zealand in Soweto on October 6, will be named on Saturday night after the Currie Cup games have been completed.

South Africa have an outside chance of still claiming the title if they register bonus-point wins in both those home fixtures and the All Blacks lose in Argentina without getting a bonus point.