Jul 10
24
Boks Missing Frans Steyn
Its pretty clear when watching the boks lately that they are missing the massive talents of Francois Steyn. At only 23 years old, Steyn has already amassed an impressive 36 Test Caps and a World Cup winners medal. He has the most prodigious boot on the planet, is solid under the high ball and in defence, and shows an impressive turn of pace. That said, his most impressive weapon is his x factor.
This weekend we saw a laboured performence by a bok side devoid of ideas. Bryan Habana, upon recieving the ball deep in his own half, albeit in space, simply booted it back to the opposition. The bok backline cannot seem to penetrate defenses normally not as solid as theirs. Watching this aimless rugby its easily apparent how much the boks miss Steyn.
So what is wrong with the incumbent? For starters, Kirchner hardly ever enters the line on attack. He also does not attack as well as he does at Super 14 level. His kicking game does not cause sleepless nights for his opponents. He is at best ok under the high ball, and he cant kick at goal. Had the boks had Steyn on the field on Saturday, three or for more kicks were in the offing. Having Steyn on the field means you have a top class back up kicker in two positions, both Steyns. Should one cry off, the other is as capable a goal kicker. Ruan Pienaar is not in that class.
Sadly this bok team seems devoid of ideas when they have the ball in hand. Adding Steyns unpredictability into the mix would help a lot. When it comes to playing for field position, once again Steyn comes up trumps. The boks are missing the general at the back that can dictate where their once formidable line out will operate. Its an element of attack that is clearly not present at the moment.
Steyn is not the magic cure but he certainly will shore up the gaps. Can South Africa continue to ignore him? The answer is no.
