There was palpable relief in the Sharks camp after a Sanzar judicial hearing cleared Francois Steyn to play against the Force in Durban on Saturday after the Springbok had been sent off for a ‘tip tackle’ in the drama-ridden clash with the Chiefs at the weekend.
The positive outcome allows the Sharks’ coaching staff to fulfil their plan of resting ring-weary flyhalf Patrick Lambie.
The Sharks have already paid a dear cost for their 12-11 win over the Chiefs at the weekend because of the suspension of captain Bismarck du Plessis for four weeks, and the possible loss of Steyn would have magnified the blow because the coaching staff have been under pressure to rest Lambie, scrumhalf Cobus Reinach and flank Marcell Coetzee, all of whom have gone beyond the Saru agreement of no more than five matches in a row.
Steyn was sent off for the offence of “illegally lifting a player of his feet” but the judicial hearing found that Steyn had not intended to tackle illegally, and the fact that Chiefs flyhalf Aaron Cruden had been upended was significantly due to the added tackling of reinforcements from Steyn’s teammates”.
Steyn will take over at flyhalf for Lambie and veteran Conrad Hoffmann will replace the equally weary Reinach. At openside flank, the return of Etienne Oosthuizen from injury is timeous.
The issue of the captaincy is still to be resolved according to assistant coach Paul Anthony, who spoke to the media after yesterday’s training session.
“First of all, it’s a massive boost that we will have Frans available,” he said. ‘It provides huge stability to the team, especially when we will be forced to make changes with the resting of the Springboks. It was something we were pondering about, but it’s great news for us, and I think it was a fair call that he got off.”
From yesterday’s session, it would appear that burly youngster Andre Esterhuizen will move in to the inside centre spot vacated by Steyn.
While the captaincy issue is up for debate, the outgoing skipper, Du Plessis, was all remorse.
“I want to unreservedly apologise for my behaviour both as captain and a senior player. My actions were unacceptable and I fully accept the punishment handed down to me by Sanzar,” he said.
“I will use these four-weeks off the field to reflect on my actions as both a leader and role-model in the game.
“I am painfully aware that people have lost faith in my character and the values I claim to stand for.
“I intend to rectify that through actions going forward and not merely words.”
The 30-year-old added: “By my very competitive nature, whenever I take to the field, I pride myself on playing the game hard and fair.
“Sadly my recent conduct did not reflect the fairness I refer to. I am passionate about the Sharks, my teammates and the game but allowed my emotions to get the better of me.” - The Star