Frans Steyn to start for South Africa
South African Springboks coach Peter De Villiers has announced that Frans Steyn will be starting at the full-back position in this weekend’s Tri-Nations Cup match against Australia.
South Africa has struggled for the majority of the Tri Nations tournament and currently sits in last place with only one bonus point to show for four games of work. De Villiers has been searching for the right combination to defeat both the Australians and the New Zealanders all tournament. It appears as though De Villiers is taking a final shot in the dark bringing Steyn into the fold.
Steyn is currently under contract with French Top 14 side Racing Metro and has been going through a well publicized feud with the South African head coach.
The Boks requested Steyn for their last Test against New Zealand, but were denied the star when Racing Metro said he was not fit for play, after suffering an injury a couple weeks earlier. The Boks then requested Steyn’s medical records, which they were promptly denied by the French side. The complication led to De Villiers publicly questioning whether or not Steyn had the ‘heart’ to play for South Africa.
After losing another match to New Zealand last week, in which the Kiwis were able to lock up the Tri Nations Cup, De Villiers has been forced to eat his words and place Steyn in the line-up. Steyn will take over the full-back position replacing Gio Aplon, who will replace Zane Kirchner.
However, Racing Metro boss Pierre Berbizier still does not believe that Steyn is Test match ready saying, “I don’t think so. I said that to the South African team officials, whether Franscois is ready for an international match against teams which are already at their fifth or sixth game”
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