I was at Newlands in 2007 when a 20-year-old Frans Steyn booted the Springboks to victory with two sensational drop goals against the Wallabies at Newlands.
Steyn had made his Test debut the previous November, at wing against Ireland, where he scored a try.
A week later against England, he kicked a monster drop goal at Twickenham too.
He was one of the young stars of the Boks’ 2007 World Cup triumph, and slotted a vital penalty in the final as well.
And in 2009, he banged over three penalties from inside his own half to set up the Tri-Nations-winning win over the All Blacks in Hamilton.
Those are just some of the highlights of an enigmatic career, in which the now 32-year-old Steyn has played only 60 Tests.
Yes, only 60, because it should’ve been well over 100 by now. But various issues and self-imposed exiles from the team saw Steyn remain in France with Racing Metro, and then Toshiba Brave Lupus in Japan and Montpellier, back in France.
He didn’t feature for the Boks for three years from 2014, and only came back for Allister Coetzee’s 2017 bow against France.
Steyn again left the national set-up until this year, when he was recalled by Rassie Erasmus.
He showed some of his usual classy touches in the opener against Australia, and afterwards admitted that he was nervous before the game.
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/hashtag/StrongerTogether?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/Umslwj9LpL
— Springboks (@Springboks)
And even before that, there was some drama – something that Steyn is seldom far from.
He didn’t attend the Rugby Championship training camp, with Erasmus explaining that “it’s visas, admin, family things and things with his club”.
The Bok coach admitted that Steyn’s fitness wasn’t at its best either.
So, does the former Sharks star deserve a spot in the Bok World Cup squad? Should he picked on past glories?
He didn’t look all that flash either in last weekend’s 24-18 win over Argentina at Loftus Versfeld – a game that he should’ve started to prove his form and physical condition.
Instead, he replaced André Esterhuizen with 25 minutes to go, and nearly conceded a try when his kick was charged-down. He made a desperate, but successful, ankle-tap on Los Pumas loose forward Tomas Lezana to stop him in his tracks.
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/Springboks?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@springbokshave outlasted the @lospumas24-18 in a hard-fought content in Pretoria. #SuperRugby #RSAvARG pic.twitter.com/4oEqw6ARg2
— Super Rugby/TRC (@SuperRugby)
So, there’s little doubt that Steyn is not at his best at the moment. His versatility, though, as well as a couple of injuries have conspired to clear a path into the Bok squad.
Damian Willemse was being groomed as the back-up fullback to Willie le Roux until an untimely shoulder injury saw him miss the entire international season.
He produced a thrilling cameo for Western Province upon his comeback in the Currie Cup last week, but it is probably too late to convince Erasmus.
Jan Serfontein is another highly-rated back who could’ve pushed for the No 12 jersey this year, but an ankle injury has kept him sidelined as well.
Steyn has come on at inside centre for the Boks in 2019, but could also cover fullback and even flyhalf at a push.
That could make him a valuable squad member in Japan, but he will need to repay Erasmus’ faith by getting into top shape over the next few weeks before the 21 September kickoff against the All Blacks in Yokohama.
* Ashfak Mohamed is the Digital Sports Editor at Independent Media.
@ashfakmohamed