Rugby Championship
Steyn hammered in NZ press
2012-09-17 10:46
Rob Houwing, Sport24 chief writer
Cape Town – Embattled Springbok flyhalf Morne Steyn “doesn’t
seem to be able to run the ball”, says All Blacks legend Sean Fitzpatrick.
Commenting in the New Zealand Herald after Saturday’s 21-11
Castle Rugby Championship triumph by the host nation over their fierce rivals
in Dunedin, despite the Boks dominating in some areas, the former captain said:
“(Steyn) is under extreme pressure ... they need to work on his decision-making
and why he opts to kick all the time.
“The Boks often had good line speed with the ball in hand
but their kicking game let them down hugely; they might have to look at
changes.
“Under Heyneke Meyer’s coaching they seem to be opting for
that old Bulls kick-and-chase game where you can only hopefully recover the
ball – the first option is always to kick.”
Meanwhile the Otago Daily Times conceded: “Contrary to
pre-match expectations the Springboks proved to be more than a challenge for
the All Blacks and in the end probably should have walked away victors.
“They brought physicality to their game and got the better
of the contact situations, ensuring they had more than enough ball and field
position to win the game.
“But their own ineptitude was their demise as they employed
a predictable, one-dimensional game-plan, looking to kick everything.
“Not only was this the wrong plan to be using, it was poorly
executed ... the Boks simply ended up kicking the ball back to the All Blacks.
“They simply had no clue what to do on attack, and in the
end that cost them.”