Morné will be back, says Jean

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UNDER SCUTINY: Morn� Steyn goes through his paces in training this week as Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer looks on.

Ashfak Mohamed

SPRINGBOK captain Jean de Villiers says he is “not concerned at all” about Morné Steyn’s form, and believes the Bok flyhalf will come good in the Rugby Championship.

Steyn will start at No 10 in next Saturday’s Test against Argentina at Newlands, and will hope to rediscover his best form after a few average displays in the England series.

But De Villiers said at a press conference in Bellville yesterday that it was only Steyn’s goal-kicking that let him down against England. The Bulls pivot slotted 12 out of 22 kicks, while his tactical kicking was also off the mark.

“I tend to disagree with that statement (that Steyn was not at his best). I think that his general play was actually very good. I think what let him down a bit was maybe his kicking at goal. We are so used to him kicking at 90 percent and above, and he missed a couple that we are not used to,” the Bok skipper said.

“Probably the two tries that we scored in that first game was due to him setting up the counter-attack and taking the ball wide, varying it – playing the forwards and playing the backs – so that was pretty good.

“I think he is in a good place mentally, and he will be back. He is a quality guy, and hopefully he can just sort out the kicking. He kicked well in Super Rugby, so I’m not concerned at all.”

De Villiers also called on the Boks to get back to the level of play they produced in the second England Test in Johannesburg, where they came up with some of the finest attacking rugby from a Bok side in recent years. The 31-year-old centre feels that the extra week of preparation for the Rugby Championship will help the Boks to achieve better cohesion in attack against Argentina.

“We didn’t have much time to prepare this year. But if you really look at the England series, those two tries we scored in the first Test were counter-attacking tries – things that you haven’t seen in a while from a Springbok team. So I would say that that is an improvement,” De Villiers said.

“And the rugby we played in the first half of the second Test, I thought it was outstanding. There are definitely areas that we can improve on, but as a young and inexperienced team who haven’t been together too long, I thought we showed some good signs. You want to play in the right areas and you want to put the pressure on the opposition. Hopefully we can take our opportunities and score tries.”

One of the key men in the Bok attack who didn’t feature in the 14-14 draw against England in Port Elizabeth was Frans Steyn, who got married that weekend. He is back and has looked sharp in training.

“Wynand (Olivier) played really well in that third Test, but Frans Steyn is a world-class player. I think he brings a lot to the team, and it’s great to have him back. I’m glad to see him back. He is looking fit and strong, and he just brings a lot to this team,” De Villiers said.

“We view these two games as the most important within the tournament. They will be psyched up for their introduction into the competition. I think we disappointed ourselves a bit in that last game against England, and need to get back to that standard of the first 30 minutes of the second Test, and the counter-attacking from the first, and put all those positives into 80 minutes of rugby.”

The Boks received a boost on the injury front yesterday as lock Eben Etzebeth’s hip problem was deemed to be not serious enough to rule him out of the Newlands Test. Etzebeth visited a specialist in Johannesburg on Tuesday. “Eben has responded very well to treatment thus far, and we are confident that he will be available for the first Test against Argentina,” said team doctor Craig Roberts.

The Boks trained at Westerford High School in Newlands yesterday afternoon, and with JP Pietersen out with a broken thumb, Bryan Habana ran at right wing and Lwazi Mvovo at No 11. Zane Kirchner was at fullback after missing the last two England Tests due to injury.