Goosen making first start as Steyn is axed

Updated September 27, 2012 11:01:32

The Springboks will start 20-year-old fly half Johan Goosen for the first time against the Wallabies in the Rugby Championship on Sunday (AEST).

The fairytale rise of the young number 10, who only made his senior debut last year in the domestic Currie Cup championship for the Free State Cheetahs, continued when he was named in the team on Wednesday.

The South African media and public clamour for Goosen has intensified as one-time golden boy Morne Steyn suffered a place-kicking slump that culminated in him missing four of five shots at goal in a 21-11 loss to New Zealand this month.

Steyn, famous for his halfway line penalty that sealed a Test series against the 2009 British and Irish Lions, does not even make the bench with another rising star, Golden Lion Elton Jantjies, covering Goosen.

A criticism of 28-year-old Bulls fly half Steyn was that he often lay too deep at set pieces and in broken play, restricting the chances of the Springboks crossing the gain line.

His field kicking also left much to desired at times in recent Tests, squandering hard-won possession by booting the ball too far ahead of chasing team-mates and gifting the ball to opponents.

Goosen injured his shoulder against Otago Highlanders in the Super Rugby clash this year and played only one Currie Cup match on his return before being promoted to the Springbok squad.

He came off the bench in the away losses to the Wallabies and All Blacks and gets his big chance in a match that could determine who finishes second behind runaway leaders New Zealand.

The All Blacks have 16 points, the Wallabies eight, the Springboks seven and new boys Argentina three with two rounds left of the expanded southern hemisphere championship.

"I have maintained from the outset that I will not rush Johan, but I feel he is now ready to start a Test and I am excited to see what he can bring," said Springboks coach Heyneke Meyer.

"Morne has played close to 140 matches at Test, Super 15 and Currie Cup level in the last four seasons and probably deserves a break. Morne is a fighter and I know he will bounce back."

Goosen is one of three definite changes to the team beaten in Dunedin with Eben Etzebeth, available again after a ban for threatening to head butt Australian Nathan Sharpe, and Andries Bekker recalled.

They replace Flip van der Merwe, who drops to the bench, and Juandre Kruger. Losing five of their throws against the All Blacks played a part in the decision.

There could be a fourth change if inside centre Francois Steyn fails to recover from an ankle injury, with new squad inclusion Jaco Taute from the Golden Lions on stand-by.

Australia will name its team later today with most interest in whether Berrick Barnes or Kurtley Beale is chosen at fly half in the absence of injured Quade Cooper.

South Africa side:

Zane Kirchner; Bryan Habana, Jean de Villiers (capt), Francois Steyn or Jaco Taute, Francois Hougaard; Johan Goosen, Ruan Pienaar; Duane Vermeulen, Willem Alberts, Francois Louw; Andries Bekker, Eben Etzebeth; Jannie du Plessis, Adriaan Strauss, Tendai Mtawarira.

Replacements: Tiaan Liebenberg, Coenie Oosthuizen, Flip van der Merwe, Marcell Coetzee, Elton Jantjies, Jaco Taute or Juan de Jongh, Patrick Lambie

AFP

Tags: sport, rugby-union, south-africa

First posted September 27, 2012 09:12:57

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Steyn rescues draw for Springboks

Updated August 26, 2012 14:45:28

Argentina stood on the brink of a remarkable first victory over South Africa in its second Rugby Championship match before the Springboks rallied to snatch a 16-16 draw.

The match had looked like ending in a perfect home debut for the Pumas, famously tough opponents on Argentine soil long before their entry into their first annual major tournament.

Argentina dominated a first half in which the Springboks, who had beaten them 27-6 at home last weekend, were given little chance to display the running strengths they have honed in the Super Rugby competition.

South Africa's coach Heyneke Meyer pointed to the difficulty his players had endured with Argentina's more classical test game, played tight and close to the forwards.

"We had a lot of youngsters in the team, with not all that much experience, but it's not an excuse. Technically we weren't good enough at the breakdown," he said.

"We can play much better. These players are more used to Super 15 rugby. The Pumas play a European game.

"I'm sorry the way we played didn't honour the great welcome we have had in Mendoza. The people here can be proud of their team."

Springboks captain and centre Jean de Villiers said: "It was a very frustrating game for the outside backs, we didn't get too much ball.

The factor which made the match all the more frustrating for South Africa was Argentina's marked improvement on their tournament debut in Cape Town.

"We talked all week about improving how we got out of our half and for a big part of the match we did that well," Pumas captain Juan Fernandez Lobbe said.

"The key was our attitude, confidence and giving our all.

"We've progressed from last week and now we face the biggest challenges we'll have as players," he said in a reference to the forthcoming away matches against the All Blacks and the Wallabies.

Argentina coach Santiago Phelan added: "We had hoped for another result, a winning game but we are still very satisfied We did a lot of work (on the breakdown), I think it's a strength of Argentine rugby."

The Pumas, who had lost their previous 14 matches against South Africa, ran up a 13-3 halftime lead after a early try by centre Santiago Fernandez.

Several phases of attack ended when they broke through the middle of the Springboks defence and prop Juan Figallo handed the final pass to Fernandez who ran in under the posts.

Full-back Martin Rodriguez converted and finished with a tally of 11 points including three penalties, exactly the same as fly half Steyn.

Argentina, though, was left to rue the kick out of defence by Fernandez that was charged down by his opposite number Frans Steyn, who chased the ball and scored the Springboks' try 15 minutes from time.

The error would have cost Argentina more dearly had Steyn slotted over a late penalty from out on the right wing.

Argentina 16: (S Fernandez try. M Rodriguez con, 3 pens)

South Africa 16: (F Steyn. M Steyn con, 3 pens)

Reuters

Tags: sport, rugby-union, argentina, south-africa

First posted August 26, 2012 07:06:44

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Steyn reaches 1,000 as Bulls hammer Cheetahs

Updated March 04, 2012 08:02:19

Fly half Morne Steyn became the third player to score 1,000 Super Rugby points as he converted all six of the Bulls' tries and added three penalties in their impressive 51-19 hammering of the Cheetahs on Sunday morning (AEDT).

Steyn joined Canterbury Crusaders fly half Dan Carter (1,272 points) and Australian Stirling Mortlock (1,031) as he became the first South African to reach four figures. He has now scored 1,012 points in 91 games, all for the Bulls.

The Bulls went to the top of the standings with nine points despite finishing the match with 13 men after Francois Hougaard was harshly red-carded in the 64th minute for a tip-tackle and flank Jacques Potgieter was yellow-carded for a shoulder-charge in the 78th minute.

However, such setbacks failed to stop the Bulls from charging to victory and condemning fellow South African side the Cheetahs to the bottom of the table.

Props Dean Greyling and Werner Kruger scored the first two Bulls tries from close range, while Cheetahs flyhalf Johan Goosen kept the home side in touch with his immaculate kicking ability as he scored three penalties to narrow the gap to 17-9.

The Bulls kept piling on the pressure as wing Bjorn Basson scored another try to open up a commanding 31-12 lead at half-time.

Following the interval, Akona Ndungane burst clear of the Cheetahs' defence and passed inside for full-back Zane Kirchner to score.

Steyn landed his second and third penalties to stretch the lead to 37-12 after 58 minutes.

"We're very disappointed but credit to the Bulls, tactically they were better than us and credit to their defence," Cheetahs captain Adriaan Strauss said.

"We were on their line for a while but we couldn't get through."

Hougaard was then red-carded, despite centre Robert Ebersohn twisting around in the tackle and going to ground head-first.

That interruption temporarily caught the Bulls off guard and Strauss pounced to score Cheetahs' only try.

The Bulls quickly regained control and scored two more tries in the last 10 minutes through replacement centre JJ Engelbrecht and Kirchner.

"It's easy to play well when 15 players are so willing to work hard for each other," outstanding Bulls hooker Chiliboy Ralepelle said.

"Morne Steyn is a special athlete, well done to him."

Bulls: 51 (Z Kirchner 2, D Greyling, W Kruger, B Basson, JJ Engelbrecht tries; M Steyn 6 cons; 3 pens)

Cheetahs: 19 (A Strauss try; J Goosen con; 4 pens)

Reuters

Tags: sport, rugby-union, super-rugby, south-africa

First posted March 04, 2012 07:54:15

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Kirchner replaces Steyn in Boks squad

Updated October 02, 2011 12:14:42

Full-back Zane Kirchner has been called into the Springbok Rugby World Cup squad as a replacement for injured Frans Steyn, team officials said on Sunday.

Kirchner, 27, will join the squad in Wellington on Tuesday in preparation for Sunday's quarter-final against likely opponent Australia.

Steyn injured his left shoulder in the final few minutes of the Springboks' 13-5 victory over Samoa at North Harbour on Friday and will return home for surgery.

"I am bitterly disappointed," Steyn said.

"I don't know how the injury happened - it was at a ruck when I was cleaning someone out late in the game.

"I was enjoying our campaign and the tournament and to have it ended like this is very disappointing.

"I'd just like to wish the squad all the best for the rest of the tournament."

Steyn, who plays French club rugby with Racing Metro, scored tries in each of the Springboks' first three matches in the tournament as well as adding two long-range penalties for 21 points in his second World Cup tournament.

Four years ago Steyn became the youngest player to win a Rugby World Cup winners' medal as a 20-year-old in South Africa's victory in France.

Blue Bulls' Kirchner has 14 Springboks caps with the last of them coming against England in November.

Kirchner was a member of the Springboks' World Cup preliminary squad but missed out on initial selection for the Tri-Nations tournament because of injury.

AFP

Tags: rugby-union-world-cup, rugby-union, sport, new-zealand, south-africa

First posted October 02, 2011 12:12:54

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Steyn kicks Bulls to victory

Posted May 22, 2011 06:31:00

Springbok fly half Morne Steyn kicked 22 points to help the Bulls to a 32-23 victory over the Sharks in an all-South African Super Rugby match at Kings Park in Durban overnight.

Steyn, a veteran of 25 Tests, missed just one of his eight attempts at goal and succeeded with five penalties, two conversions and a drop goal.

The win kept the Bulls' slim play-off hopes alive as they moved to 40 points, eight behind the Stormers in the South African conference and four behind the second-placed Sharks.

The visitors dominated the first quarter, roaring into a 20-6 lead, while the home side's cause was not helped by their poor lineout performances early in the match.

Left wing Francois Hougaard scored the opening try of the contest courtesy of a stolen Sharks' lineout in the host's 22-metre area.

Steyn and his opposite number Patrick Lambie traded penalties before the visitors stretched their lead when a line break from inside centre Wynand Olivier resulted in lock Bakkies Botha diving over from close range for a converted try.

Steyn and Lambie again traded penalties before Steyn completed the first half scoring with a snap drop goal from 25 metres out.

The fly half was responsible for the first points of the second half when he succeeded with a 40-metre penalty attempt before the Sharks launched a comeback which narrowed the deficit to 10 points.

The hosts finally breached their opponent's defence when hooker Bismarck du Plessis barrelled over after a quick tap penalty from scrum half Charl McLeod five metres from the Bulls' tryline before a Lambie penalty left the score at 26-16 after 60 minutes.

Before a crowd of 35,143, Steyn ended any hopes the Sharks had of pulling off an unlikely victory with two more penalties to kill the match off as a contest despite a consolation try for the home side when centre Adrian Jacobs slid over in the corner in the 75th minute.

- Reuters

Tags: sport, rugby-union, super-14, south-africa

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