Frans Steyn - then and now

Frans Steyn, as World Cup winner at 19, has not always been appreciated in his home country – often misguidedly labelled a maverick.

Now, again under the guidance of the man who gave him his first taste of Test rugby as a fresh-faced teenager, Steyn is reproducing the form that made him an integral part of the victorious 2007 World Cup squad.

Jake White, before the start of the season, publicly declared that he knows "what makes Steyn tick" and he has now proven that he can still get the best out of the prodigiously talented utility back.

Steyn, now 26, is without doubt one of the most versatile players ever to don the Bok jersey.

Having made his Test debut on the wing against Ireland in November 2006, the man with the siege-gun boot has played in 53 internationals in the past eight years.

Of those 26 were in his preferred position in the midfield – mostly at inside centre where he first made name for himself at the 2007 World Cup – 19 time he played at fullback, five Test at flyhalf and three on the wing.

Having returned to South Africa in 2012, after three years of playing in France, injury curtailed his game time last year – with his critics suggesting he will not reach the same heights he did as a teenager.

White, who coached the Boks to World Cup glory with Steyn in the No.12 jersey, knew better.

And the Sharks' Director of Rugby has also managed to help another much-maligned young talent regain his best form – with the Patrick Lambie (at flyhalf) and Frans Steyn (inside centre) combination at the heart of the table-topping Sharks' unbeaten Super Rugby run.

"Pat [Lambie] is obviously on top of his game," White told this website, in an interview ahead of their crunch all-South African derby against the Bulls in Pretoria on Saturday.

"Frans [Steyn] is the best he has looked in a long, long time," the Sharks boss said, adding that Steyn gives confidence to people around him.

"He distributes well, he takes the ball to the line, carry it through the middle if he needs to.

"Defensively he communicates well and is not scared to talk to people inside and outside him about what their roles are.

"He is an allround package for me and I have no doubt Pat get confidence from having him [Steyn] on his outside."

White said the quality of Steyn's game has a "ripple-effect" on what happens in the rest of the backline.

"You have JP Pietersen in his 100th game, you have Lwazi Mvovo, who is a Springbok, and then  you put Sibusiso Sithole there. He [Sithole] must get a massive amount of confidence he gets, when he looks around in certain situations and he is surrounded by Springboks."

While Steyn has had his ups and downs, he has matured enough to turn things around when many were ready to write him off.

White said a couple of things contributed to the big turnaround.

"One things is that he knows exactly what he has to do, he knows what he has been selected for," the Sharks boss told this website.

"He gets backed fully in terms of the decisions he makes on the field and there is a lot more buy-in from him.

"He is now a 26-year-old married man and his value systems have changed. He likes the fact that you can ask him and bounce things off him.

"The conditioning coaches have worked hard on getting him fit again. Now that he is fit he can play game, after game and he gets better. He is like every other player – he needs game time and he needs to be in those situations where he gets confidence.

"All those things added up make sure he is enjoying his rugby again."

While Steyn has always had the ability to slot goals from inside his half or drop-kick points from a long distance, it is how he applies himself now that is so different from the rough diamond that first burst onto the scene.

"The one thing I have really enjoyed about Frans," White said, adding: "I asked him why doesn't he take more kicks, or why doesn't he kick for touch? And this shows his maturity, he said he knows Pat Lambie likes to do it and Lambie's game is affected if he doesn't do it.

"He would rather have Pat do it and Pat be on top of his game.

"That is a very different Frans Steyn to the one I knew when he was 19 years old. He used to take conversions and drop-kicks.

"He obviously understands that players around him gets confidence from the things they do . That sums it up for me where I had him as a 19-year-old and where I have him now as a 26-year-old married man.

"His perspective on who does what, how much they do and what they need to do to play well is obviously very important for us as a group."

* Meanwhile another Springbok stalwart in the Sharks set-up will reach the century mark in Super Rugby caps when JP Pietersen takes to the field against the Bulls on Saturday.

It will make him the third South African player this season to reach this milestone, behind Akona Ndungane and Jean de Villiers, and 24th overall.

Pietersen, at 27 years and 253 days on Saturday, will become the youngest South African to reach this milestone, surpassing Morné Steyn (27 years and 312 days), Pierre Spies (27 years 344 days ) and Meyer Bosman (27 years 351 days).

Pietersen has scored 33 tries in his 99 appearances to date for the Sharks.

"It is a big achievement for a guy that plays 100 times for his franchise," White said.

"I have no doubt that it’s not only what he brings on the field, but also what he brings to the rest of the group off the field. I'm sure it will be a special occasion for him. I have no doubt JP, being as popular a player as he is to this group, a lot of the players will want to do well for him as well."

South Africa's Super Rugby centurions:

128: Victor Matfield (Cats 8, Bulls 120)

125: AJ Venter (Cats 19, Sharks 96, Stormers 10) and John Smit (Sharks)

123: Morné Steyn (Bulls)

122: Stefan Terblanche (Sharks)

118: Bryan Habana (Bulls 61, Stormers 57)

118: Jannie du Plessis (Cheetahs 26, Sharks 92)

116: Danie Rossouw (Bulls)

114: Jacques Botes (Sharks)

113: Pedrie Wannenburg (Bulls), Adi Jacobs (Bulls 21, Cats 4, Sharks 88)

112: Fourie du Preez (Bulls)

110: Wynand Olivier (Bulls)

108: Ollie le Roux (Natal 24, Sharks 60, Cats 3, Cheetahs 21), Meyer Bosman (Cheetahs 61, Sharks 47), Odwa Ndungane (Bulls 10, Sharks 98)

107: Bismarck du Plessis (Sharks)

104: Andries Bekker (Stormers), Jano Vermaak (Cats 11, Lions 62, Bulls 31)

103: Pierre Spies (Bulls)

102: Albert van den Berg (Cats 7, Sharks 95)

100: Bakkies Botha (Bulls), Akona Ndungane (Bulls), Jean de Villiers (Stormers)

By Jan de Koning