Frans Steyn yearns to return to Bok

FRANS Steyn has dangled the carrot in front of Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer by stating that he wants to play for the Springboks again.

Steyn admitted that he first needs to focus on the Sharks, who have a crucial date with the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein tomorrow. The Sharks need him at his mercurial best and Steyn needs to be in prime form to help reverse their current slide as he shakes off the Super Rugby cobwebs following the game against the Stormers last week.

“I would like that [to play for the Boks] but I want to play well for the Sharks this year. I want to build on last season.

“I still want to do a lot of things here at the Sharks,” Steyn said.

Sharks director of rugby, Gary Gold, hopes his team will have learnt lessons from their 35-29 first-round mauling by the Storm- ers. Getting to grips with their new game plan has not harvested the immediate returns Gold would have wanted but he still feels that he has not reached panic stations stage yet.

They will have their first choice front row of Beast Mtawarira, Bismarck du Plessis and Jannie du Plessis.

Mouritz Botha has recovered from a fractured eye-socket to replace Giant Mtyanda.

Renaldo Bothma worms his way back into the Sharks’ line-up in the number seven jersey at Willem Albert’s expense, who will sit out the game with hamstring tenderness.

The backs are unchanged but Tera Mtembu and Lourens Adriaanse will appear on the bench.

“Our set-piece taking was not good enough that night.

“We did not take them lightly then, we are certainly not going to take them lightly now,” Gold said.