'Injured' Steyn fit for club duty
Thu, 19 Aug 2010 14:28
Frans Steyn: Fit enough for France? (c) Gallo
The Francois Steyn saga revealed yet another bizarre twist on Thursday, when he was declared fit enough to play for his French club, Racing Metro on the weekend.
Steyn's Top 14 club take on rivals Montpellier on Friday, with the 'injured' Bok utility named amongst the replacements for the match. That after he was deemed unfit to play for the Springboks this weekend.
Steyn was initially named in the Springbok squad for the home leg of the Tri-Nations, but it was later announced that he would be unavailable for this weekend's Test against the All Blacks in Soweto after picking up an injury while playing for Racing in a pre-season game.
He suffered a quadriceps injury - which was initially diagnosed as ankle injury - which led Bok coach Peter de Villiers to question the player's commitment to the Bok cause; despite the fact that SARU had not requested the proper clearance from his club in order for him to play for South Africa.
However, Steyn - speaking to Afrikaans newspaper, Rapport, at the weekend - denied that he lacked the necessary desire to play for his country.
"At the end of the day, however, Racing Metro pay my salary and look after me well. I don't have a Springbok contract... And now I have to hear that I don't have the heart to play for the Boks," he told the newspaper.
"Despite everything, I will be the first guy on the plane the minute I get the necessary permission to travel to South Africa to play for the Boks. I phoned the coach [De Villiers] this past week and left a message on his cell phone. I assured him that I am still eager to play for the Boks."
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