After last nights game between the Barbarians and Australia, which Australia won 18-11, I can now firmly conclude that there is no way Frans Steyn can become a world class flyhalf. He probably had the worst game I have ever seen him play last night and I just hope that the Springbok selectors saw that Steyn is not good enough to be a flyhalf and having him as the backup flyhalf to Ruan next year is a big mistake!
From the first kickoff, Frans got it wrong by putting his kick straight into touch and that just seemed to set him up for a poor 80 minutes. As the commentators said, “Frans is addicted to drop goals!” I agree. Why try all those drop goals when it is not on? Just because he has a big boot and thinks he can drop goals from all over the field, it does not mean he will get them over. I would love to see his percentage of drop goals attempts versus his actual successes. I think it will be very low.
Besides the drop goals he just did not get the backline running at all as he opted to crash the ball up himself on many occasions. Yes, they may have only had 2 training sessions before the match but still, with the wealth of talent on his outside, he should have done much better. His goal kicking was not on point as he missed a virtual sitter penalty to win the game for the Barbarians.
Maybe Frans was just trying too hard to impress yesterday thus his poor game. But after that 80 minutes, I would not like to see him in the number 10 position again anytime soon. He just looks too raw and does not have that flair and coolness a number 10 should have. He seems to want to do everything at pace and as hard as possible. I guess maybe he is still young and he needs to be groomed if he is to be a flyhalf. But from day one I have always said that Frans is not a number 10.
Hopefully PDV saw last nights game and will go back to the drawing board and realise he needs to get some cover for Ruan as Frans is not the man for the job. Could that mean Earl Rose would step up? That could be even worse than Frans!
I like Frans as a rugby player but certainly not as a flyhalf. I just hope he forgets about last nights game and moves on with his career. All too often, young players go through a bad game, such as the one Frans had, and that could knock their confidence and even their careers. All it takes is one bad game and that is it. Just ask New Zealand’s Luaki!
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2 comments
Guru says:
Dec 4, 2008
A rare occasion where I am in full agreement with Ron. Personally I feel that Frans just proved that he does not have the mental capacity and composure to be in any starting position for the boks, let alone flyhalf. The importance of grooming a player was magnified by the difference between 17 year old James O’Conor playing fullback for Aus and 21 Year old Frans Steyn playing flyhalf for the barbarians. The Australians know how to groom their players and nurture them. In SA we find many people calling for Frans to be given a starting berth no matter where, not realising that Jean and Conrad are where they are because of experience gained over years of playing. Frans Steyn has a lot of talent but I fear he might end up just being another Brent Russell. He should never again play at flyhalf. For now, PDV should just groom him as Jean’s understudy. He may have a huge boot but it is very uneducated and last night he kicked aimlessly out of hand and missed 5 easy points from place kicks. He is good enough to start for the Sharks at S14 and CC but certainly not at test level. Give him time to be groomed.
Ron says:
Dec 4, 2008
Guru, we finally agree on something! I think it will snow in Cape Town today!!