If there is one player who should never play at flyhalf it is young Frans Steyn. The guy has bags of talent but he looks out of his depth when called upon to be a flyhalf. We all saw his nightmare when called to fill in the number 10 role for the Springboks in 2007 against the All Blacks in Durban. At that time, Jake White said Frans will not play at number 10 again because he needs space and you rarely get much of it at number 10. Then Steyn was flyhalf again for the Barbarians last year and what another disaster. He had a bad game. And now he has to fill the role for the Sharks now that Ruan Pienaar is injured.
We saw Steyn’s performance on Saturday against the Reds when he moved into the flyhalf position when Ruan got injured. Yet again, another disaster by Steyn at number 10. The guy is a center or for me his best position is at fullback.
I am now worried about the Sharks if they are going to rely on Steyn being their flyhalf. They must be wishing they had Butch James to call upon. With the Sharks facing the Force this weekend in Perth, it may not be a guaranteed Sharks win as many my predict. Steyn will be up against Giteau who many say is the best flyhalf in the game today. I got a feeling the Force could just edge this one simply due to the fact that Steyn is at number 10.
Loading ...
4 comments
Guru says:
Mar 18, 2009
While I agree that Steyn is not cut out to be a flyhalf, I cannot picture anyone else that the Sharks should use on Saturday. If memory serves me right, Adi JAcobs played flyhalf for the Falcons at some stage but that was years ago. Other than that, I see no other likely candidate and I think John Plumtree may not admit it but Steyn is selected simply because there is no other option. I suspect that Plumtree will change tactics and use Rory Cockott to kick more often and not have to have Steyn clearing under pressure all the time.
While I agree that Steyn is not half as good as Ruan, I still think that the Sharks coaches can alter their game plan to accomodate for that and Steyn’s performance will not be as vital or significant as Ron suggests in this article. They have the forward pack and the outside backs to assist in relieving pressure on Steyn. I am sure the coaching staff will have that in mind come kick off time.
Ron says:
Mar 18, 2009
True Guru, they have no other option but to play Frans at 10. I am sure Plumtree is working on his tactics for this one but dont forget that if Frans moves to 10 then the Sharks are going to need another number 12 and maybe Jacobs will move there then I dont know who will be 13. That means the Ryan Cross is going to have a party for the Force up against a lesser number 13 than him!
BP says:
Mar 19, 2009
dunno why i picked a sharks win on superbru with steyn at 10, giteau must be licking his lips and pocock is saying come here for a turn over!!
Guru says:
Mar 20, 2009
I still think the Sharks will sneak it on the scoreboard.