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Bok flyhalf place up for grabs

Durban - Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer insists he faces a “tough decision” to choose his flyhalf ahead of the international season which begins against Italy in Durban next week.

Both Morné Steyn and Patrick Lambie were hard at work alongside most of the 39-man group summoned for their second national training camp of the year in Durban on Monday.

Bulls veteran Steyn had been resurgent in 2013 after a slightly off-colour past season during which he copped plenty of criticism.

GALLERY: Boks train in Durban

Young Sharks star Lambie, meanwhile, had been slightly out-of-form this year, and had not been helped by the struggles of his franchise in the Super Rugby campaign.

“I always knew Morne was mentally tough and every player goes through a bad patch,” Meyer said in Durban North where the squad were training.

“I don’t think he played badly last year, it was just his kicking that let him down and, unfortunately for a number 10, kicking is your main thing and you have to do it well.

“I still have a lot of confidence in Pat as well. He played really well during the end-of-year tour. Between him and Morné, I think we have two established 10s and I’m very happy with the two.”

One solution for Meyer would be to move Lambie to fullback, where he played during the early part of his tenure. It would also solve the problem of a replacement for regular starter Zane Kirchner, who had an injured finger.

The Bulls number 15 was at the camp, but sat in the stands watching on as he continued his recovery.

The Springbok boss admitted he was really worried about who would be playing as fullback against the Italians next Saturday at Kings Park.

“Most of the top contenders are injured, so there’s probably going to be a new back three against Italy, which is a quality side when it comes to kicking," Meyer said.

“At this stage, there’s a slight chance Zane can be ready, but it depends how it goes in the next week. You just don’t want to throw a guy in that hasn’t played, so we’ll see how it goes."

Meyer said two other possibilities he was considering were Gio Aplon and Willie le Roux.

South Africa would also play Scotland during the June internationals and a third Test against the team that fares best between Italy, Scotland and Samoa in the four-team competition.

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