New Div twist in Steyn saga
Fri, 13 Aug 2010 16:00
Has P Divvy dropped the ball on this? (c) Gallo
The Peter de Villiers versus Frans Steyn saga continues to take on a life of its own, as the Springbok returned to their homes from a four-day training camp in Johannesburg.
The Bok coach, De Villiers now wants to ascertain whether Steyn is indeed injured.
On Thursday - when it was announced that Steyn would not be available for selection for the Test against the All Blacks in Soweto next Saturday, August 21 - the Bok coach questioned whether the Bok back had the heart to play for his country.
Steyn - who is under medical supervision at Racing Metro in Paris, and not even in SA at present - has been at the centre of the latest Bok headlines throughout the week, having finally been recalled to the national squad.
More reports are emerging from Thursday's media scrum, the latest revealing that De Villiers wants to see the medical report from the player's club, Racing Metro.
De Villiers said he needs the results of the scans done on the 2007 World Cup winner in order to be able "to come to bigger and better conclusions", intimating that Steyn might not be interested in representing the Boks.
De Villiers said of the problems to obtain the services of overseas players that "it sometimes places one in the position where your way of thinking is probably influenced in the wrong direction, as is only human".
The Bok boss added: "Does he [the overseas player/Steyn] want to be here [in the Bok team] or not?
"On the one hand, we know that the pace of the game here [in South Africa/southern hemisphere] is better.
"But then there is the question about the [individual] character's attitude towards the Springbok jersey.
"In such situations you cannot find out what the real situation is, and it worries me because I would like to see a team that feels strongly about representing the country. Therefore I want to see the medical records [of Steyn] as soon as possible to come to bigger and better conclusions."
It was confirmed on Thursday that Steyn would not be able to train until Wednesday next week, after suffering a quadricep muscle injury in a pre-season match last Friday.
Andy Marinos, the South African Rugby Union Manager of National Teams, is in discussions with Steyn's club, and the French Rugby Federation, to secure Steyn's availability for the following two Tests against Australia (on August 28 in Pretoria and September 4 in Bloemfontein).
"The injury situation has to be dealt with first, but we are hopeful that Frans will be available to us after the All Blacks match," Marinos said.
De Villiers and Marinos said that it was important to sit down with Steyn and other overseas Test candidates to ascertain where they stand on representing the national side.
* At the same media conference, Springbok coach Peter de Villiers said delays over Steyn's availability had led him to reconsider his options for the clash with the All Blacks.
"It has been slightly disruptive, but we have players in the group who are ready to play and it would be silly to take risks if any player is not 100 percent fit".
Reports have suggested that Gio Aplon or Zane Kirchner could be named at fullback for the Soweto encounter.
* The coach also expressed his disappointment that Western Province defence coach Jacques Nienaber would not be joining the team management, indicating that this could force the Springboks to look for someone overseas to do that job.
Nienaber returned to Cape Town, after assisting at the Bok at their training camp on Tuesday this week, when his current employers - WP Rugby (Pty) Ltd - refused to release him from his contract or share him with the Boks. Nienaber is contracted to Province till 2012.
"It's a pity that something like this had to happen. He had an opportunity to use his knowledge to the benefit of the country, but is not being allowed to do it. It was his big chance to make a contribution at the highest level and it has now been lost," said De Villiers.
"It also means that I will now have to look for someone overseas to do a job that a South African could have done."
De Villiers did not explain why it took him till this week to ask for additional help, after his team's porous defence was shown up by the All Blacks and Wallabies on tour.
SAPA
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