RUGBY TRI-NATIONS:SOUTH AFRICA'S hopes of including Francois Steyn in their team for the next Tri-Nations Test against New Zealand tomorrow week in Johannesburg have been scuppered by a tug-of-war with his French club, Racing Metro.
The presence of Steyn, who kicked three penalties from his own half in the Springboks’ 32-29 win over New Zealand in Hamilton last September, would have enabled the Springboks to use their favoured pressure-kicking tactics.
The 23-year-old, a powerful runner and defender, could have been crucial in helping the South Africans turn round their terrible start to the competition in which they suffered three heavy defeats overseas.
Andy Marinos, the South African Rugby Union’s manager of national teams, blamed poor communication by Racing Metro for the decision to withdraw Steyn.
“We have a situation where the player got injured, so we need to deal with that first,” Marino said. “But to date we have been struggling to get clarity from Racing Metro on the extent of the injury.
“I don’t want to say that anyone is being disingenuous, but the difficulty with players overseas is the communication and I am concerned by the very scarce information coming back from Racing Metro,” Marinos said.
Steyn last played for his country against Wales in June before falling out of favour after a disagreement with coach Peter de Villiers who hinted his patience was wearing thin. “Does he want to be here or not? I can’t understand if he doesn’t have a heart for the Springbok jersey,” De Villiers said.
“I want a team on the field that feels strongly for our land. He is so talented, I want to see him play for us but there comes a point when you have to say ‘so far and no further’.
“We must get finality on this situation as quickly as possible.”
Meanwhile, the All Blacks scrumhalf Jimmy Cowan has been given the all clear to travel to South Africa, the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) said yesterday. Cowan missed the win over Australia in Christchurch last weekend with a rib injury he sustained in the victory over the Wallabies in Melbourne at the end of last month.
“Jimmy had a medical assessment in Christchurch today and passed that so he’s fit to travel to South Africa with the team,” team doctor Deb Robinson said. “He is now keen to get back to training.”
Alby Mathewson, who made his Test debut as a replacement for starting scrumhalf Piri Weepu against Australia last week, was on standby to travel in Cowan’s place.
NEW ZEALAND:(Revised squad): Forwards: John Afoa, Anthony Boric, Tom Donnelly, Corey Flynn, Ben Franks, Owen Franks, Jerome Kaino, Richie McCaw, Keven Mealamu, Kieran Read, Brad Thorn, Victor Vito, Samuel Whitelock, Tony Woodcock. Backs: Daniel Carter, Jimmy Cowan, Aaron Cruden, Israel Dagg, Cory Jane, Mils Muliaina, Maa Nonu, Rene Ranger, Joe Rokocoko, Conrad Smith, Benson Stanley, Piri Weepu.
