Steyn: Bulls close ranks
The Bulls have closed ranks around misfiring Springbok flyhalf Morné Steyn, as the three-time champions head into the business-end of the season.
The 27-year-old pivot has been a pale shadow of the match-winning machine that took South African to a series win against the British & Irish Lions and a Tri-Nations victory in 2009.
Amidst rumours of mental fatigue and problems with a change in kicking coaches, his goalkicking – the veteran marksman's most potent weapon – has let him down.
With the vultures circling, hoping to feed off what they believe is the carcass of a Bok ready to be put out to pasture, the Bulls have made no secret of their willingness to back the player.
Bulls coach Frans Ludeke, in typical defiant fashion, is confident that Steyn will find his form again.
Despite having set a host of domestic and international records, the 37-Test stalwart struggled with his goalkicking for the Springboks in the recent 2-0 series win over England.
He kicked just four from seven (57 percent) in the series opener in Durban (a 22-17 win), five from nine (55 percent) in the 36-27 series clinching second Test win in Johannesburg and three from six attempts (50 percent) during the 14-all draw with the English in Port Elizabeth last Saturday.
It is that decline, from an already low 57 percent (given that he is usually an 80 percent-plus kicker), that is causing major concern.
His Super Rugby form has also been very inconsistent – ranging from about 75 percent to a high of 100 percent – missing far more than his usual number of kicks at goal.
Ludeke, however, said they would continue to back the Bulls pivot and was adamant that Steyn would be back to his usual high standard when they host the Cheetahs in a Super Rugby derby at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
"Morné is very comfortable with himself and he knows what is going on there and is keen to rectify that," the Bulls mentor told a media scrum in Pretoria on Wednesday.
"We are positive and we believe in him."
Ludeke explained further: "It's times like these that you need to back players and show faith.
"We know what he can do and we are confident that he will be back on his game this weekend."
Ludeke pointed out that Steyn had been in a similar situation before and he worked through it.
The irony is that at a time when Steyn's goalkicking appears to be on the decline, other aspects of his game – such as his distribution, option-taking and defence – have showed marked improvement.
"There is nobody more eager to sort this out than him [Steyn]," Ludeke said.
"He is a guy with an amazing work ethic and he puts in the hours so it's a small thing.
"To pin it down to mental fatigue would be unfair.
"I believe he is on top of the situation and he can bounce back," added Ludeke.
According to media dispatches from Pretoria, Steyn has spent plenty of additional time after the Bulls' regular practice sessions this week honing his kicking technique.
Whilst Ludeke admitted that Steyn's "consistency" of the last few years was missing, he would continue to support the flyhalf.
"We must back him now – he needs our backing."
* Steyn holds a number of world and domestic records.
Here are some of those records:
* World record for most points scored by a player who has scored all their team's points (31).
* Most points scored against New Zealand (31) in a single Test.
* South African record for penalties in a Test (8) – beating the seven achieved twice by former fullback and former kicking coach of South Africa, Percy Montgomery.
* All of the above records achieved with his 31 points scored in the 2009 Tri-Nations match against the All Blacks in Durban on August 1.
* South African record for most points in a Test against Australia.
* Fastest 100 points by a Springbok (8 Test matches, 3 as replacement)
* Fastest 200 points by a Springbok (16 Test matches)
* Fastest 300 points by a Springbok (24 Test matches)
* Fastest 400 points by a Springbok (33 Test matches)
* Most drop-goals in a Super Rugby season (11).
* Most points scored against the All Blacks for a Springbok (31).
* Most points in a Tri-Nations match (31).
* Most drop-goals in a Super Rugby game (4) (in the 2009 Super 14 semifinal against the Crusaders)
* Most drop-goals in Super Rugby (22)
* Most drop-goals in a Super Rugby season (11 in 2009)
* Most penalties in a Super Rugby season (51 in 2010)
* Most points in a Super Rugby season (263) – Beating Dan Carter's record of 221 set in 2006.
* Most points by a Bulls player in Super Rugby history (1,157)
* Most points by a South African and first South African to reach 1,000 points in Super Rugby (1,157)
* Steyn also holds the record for most consecutive successful kicks at goal in Test play since statistics for that category were first kept in the late 1980s. He had a streak of 41 successful attempts that ended on November 6, 2010 against Ireland. The previous record was 36, held by Chris Paterson of Scotland.
