Coach Meyer sticks with pivot Morné

‘Steyn a great player, young sensation Goosen’s time will come’

ESPITE several subpar performances by Morné Steyn this year, Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer says that the Bulls flyhalf doesn’t need to change his game.

Meyer kept faith with Steyn at No 10 yesterday ahead of gifted youngster Johan Goosen for Saturday’s Rugby Championship showdown at the Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin.

It will be Steyn’s 29th consecutive Test and 41st overall. He is the most-capped Bok flyhalf and has set a number of points records in his Test career, but his form has fluctuated alarmingly throughout 2012, starting with the Bulls in Super Rugby.

The biggest problem with his game is the lack of variation on attack, while his goal-kicking has also not been as flawless as in the past. Goosen’s 10-minute debut against the Wallabies last week was striking, showing that he can handle the pressure of Test-match rugby.

But Meyer is sticking with his man. “I’m a big believer in a guy sticking to his strengths, and I think Morné is a great player in his own right. He doesn’t make a lot of mistakes, so I don’t think that he needs to change the way he plays.

“It’s more about the outside backs who must use their opportunities,” the Bok coach said yesterday.

DSPRINGBOK SQUAD

“It’s great to have two slightly different types of No 10s, because then you can play two different types of games. Morné has done well for the Boks and we have won a lot of games with him at 10. So, I can’t see why he must change. He has played a lot of rugby and probably needs a break, but he is getting back to his best form. It’s great to have competition in a position.”

While Meyer does have a point about the outside backs – Frans Steyn messed up an overlap with a long skip pass, while Jean de Villiers and Lwazi Mvovo became tangled in a twoon-one situation out wide – Morné Steyn also fluffed a number of attacking opportunities..

Meyer, though, doesn’t want to place too much pressure on the 20-year-old Goosen.

“I would love to give Morné a break, but it is not always in my hands. You can just see that with Ruan (Pienaar) there, suddenly Morné played better and had the pressure taken off him. But you shouldn’t push a guy like Goosen too early,” said Meyer.

Meanwhile, Meyer brought Francois Louw into the starting line-up yesterday to deal with Richie McCaw at the breakdowns in Dunedin, with Marcell Coetzee dropping down to the bench. Coetzee was one of the stars for the Boks against Australia in Perth, but he has played a lot of rugby this year for the Sharks and Boks, while Louw is also a bit more streetwise at the breakdowns.

Western Province centre Juan de Jongh will get his first opportunity of the tour off the bench as cover for Jean de Villiers, who, along with Francois Hougaard, is nursing “bumps and bruises”. Both are expected to be fit to play.

But Meyer is still waiting to see whether Jannie du Plessis will overcome his hamstring niggle. Du Plessis sat out of training at the Ponsonby Rugby Club for the second day in a row yesterday, but will be given until tomorrow’s captain’s run in Dunedin to get ready.

Pat Cilliers (elbow) appears to have recovered from his problem, but Dean Greyling will be on the bench as prop cover as Meyer doesn’t want to risk having two injured front-rowers in the 22.

WP youngster Frans Malherbe joined up with the Bok squad in Auckland last night after flying over from Cape Town as cover for Du Plessis and Cilliers.