Despite several sub-par performances by Morné Steyn this year, Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer says that the Bulls flyhalf doesn’t need to change his game.
Meyer kept faith with Steyn at No 10 on Wednesday ahead of gifted youngster Johan Goosen for Saturday’s Rugby Championship showdown at the Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin.
It will be Steyn’s 29th consecutive Test and 41st overall. He is the most-capped Bok flyhalf and has set a number of points records in his Test career, but his form has fluctuated alarmingly throughout 2012, starting with the Bulls in Super Rugby.
The biggest problem with his game is the lack of variation on attack, while his goal-kicking has also not been as flawless as in the past. Goosen’s 10-minute debut against the Wallabies last week was striking, showing that he can handle the pressures of Test-match rugby.
But Meyer is sticking with his man. “I’m a big believer in a guy sticking to his strengths, and I think Morné is a great player in his own right. He doesn’t make a lot of mistakes, so I don’t think that he needs to change the way he plays. It’s more about the outside backs who must use their opportunities,” the Bok coach said on Wednesday.
“It’s great to have two slightly different types of 10s, because then you can play two different types of games. Morné has done well for the Boks and we have won a lot of games with him at 10. So, I can’t see why he must change. He has played a lot of rugby and probably needs a break, but he is getting back to his best form. It’s great to have competition in a position.”
While Meyer does have a point about the outside backs – Frans Steyn messed up an overlap with a long skip pass, while Jean de Villiers and Lwazi Mvovo became tangled in a two-on-one situation out wide – Morné Steyn also fluffed a number of attacking opportunities.
He twice decided to step inside instead of passing to unmarked teammates in the move that led to Bryan Habana’s try, while he also opted for two drop-goal attempts that went wide around Australia’s 22-metre area.
Meyer, though, doesn’t want to place too much pressure on the 20-year-old Goosen. “I would love to give Morné a break, but it is not always in my hands. You can just see that with Ruan (Pienaar) there, suddenly Morné played better and had the pressure taken off him. But you shouldn’t push a guy like Goosen too early.
“You need to bring him in slowly, and I think we are on the right track there with him and Morné there. Goosen is a quality player and reminds me a lot of the great 10s at that same age. He is the whole packet (package) – he’s mentally tough, has a great kicking game and has a lot of speed. And he is actually probably too physical! He will definitely put pressure on Morné going forward.”
Meanwhile, Meyer brought Francois Louw into the starting line-up yesterday to deal with Richie McCaw at the breakdowns in Dunedin, with Marcell Coetzee dropping down to the bench. Western Province centre Juan de Jongh will get his first opportunity of the tour off the bench as cover for Jean de Villiers.
World Cup-winning scrumhalf Piri Weepu will make his first start for New Zealand this season. All Blacks coach Steve Hansen made three alterations to his pack, with Sam Whitelock replacing Brodie Retallick at lock, Liam Messam coming on to the blindside of the scrum for Victor Vito, while hooker Andrew Hore replaces Keven Mealamu.
TEAMS FOR DUNEDIN
Springboks:15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Bryan Habana, 13 Jean de Villiers (capt), 12 Frans Steyn, 11 Francois Hougaard, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Juandré Kruger, 4 Flip van der Merwe, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Tendai Mtawarira. Bench:16 Tiaan Liebenberg, 17 Dean Greyling, 18 Andries Bekker, 19 Marcell Coetzee, 20 Johan Goosen, 21 Juan de Jongh, 22 Pat Lambie.
All Blacks:15 Israel Dagg, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Piri Weepu, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (capt), 6 Liam Messam, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Tony Woodcock. Bench:16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Charlie Faumuina, 18 Brodie Retallick, 19 Victor Vito, 20 Aaron Smith, 21 Beauden Barrett, 22 Tamati Ellison.