Bitter-sweet end for Steyn

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For veteran Springbok and Cheetahs midfielder Frans Steyn (above), the end of the Free State team’s Currie Cup campaign was bitter-sweet.

Having been ruled out of playoff contention, the Cheetahs closed their campaign with a lacklustre 22-18 win over near-neighbours Griquas in Kimberley on Saturday.

Steyn was named Man-of-theMatch for a second straight weekend after kicking 17 points, and has now landed 27 straight kicks at goal in his last three matches.

“I am just happy the Currie Cup season is done now for us and we can go back and have the batteries recharged,” said the 33-year-old two-time World Cup winner.

“We would naturally have loved to be in a position to feature in the playoffs, but we have to be realistic that the season has been tough for us.”

The Currie Cup semifinals will be contested on 23 January, it was confirmed at the weekend, with the final to be played on 30 January after it was extended by a week due to Covid concerns.

The Cheetahs, meanwhile, will have a three-week break before they start to prepare for a possible local competition at the end of February, which is yet to be confirmed.

“It’s not an excuse but maybe it’s a blessing in disguise to take a break away from rugby and re-focus on what we can achieve in the future,” Steyn said.

“I don’t know what kind of competition we are going to play in next, but we have to ensure we are good enough to play in that competition and hopefully perform well.”

Steyn, who felt embarrassed that one of his kicks was charged down by the shortest player on the field – Griquas scrumhalf and captain Zak Burger – admitted it had been a challenge to motivate themselves for the dead rubber.

“It’s difficult to pick yourself up but we knew they were going to come at us hard,” he said.

Though the Peacock Blues ended the campaign without a win, they pushed the Cheetahs close and only the kicking boot of Steyn stood between them and their first victory of the season.