By by Ken Borland
JOHANNESBURG, Sept 17 (Reuters) – South Africa coach Heyneke Meyer believes the current Springboks will develop into a top team despite a lean recent run in which they lost to New Zealand and Australia and drew with Argentina.
“I have a special feeling about this team going forward. We’re on the right track and the results will come,” Meyer told reporters on Monday after the team’s return from New Zealand where they were beaten 21-11 by the All Blacks in Dunedin.
“I thought we scrummed well and I’m very happy with our front row. The combination we used in the loose forwards was superb against the best loose trio in the world and we have four great locks going forward.
“There were lots of positives from Dunedin, especially from the forwards, and I believe we did enough to win that game. I think it instilled that self-belief in the team that they can beat anyone anywhere,” Meyer said.
South Africa dominated the first 50 minutes of the Rugby Championship test, but missed kicks at goal cost them 20 points.
Flyhalf Morne Steyn, the hero of their 2009 and 2010 campaigns, was responsible for 11 of those missed points and the waning influence of the Springbok backline has also been blamed on the 28-year-old pivot.
But Meyer believes Steyn, who has started all seven matches this year, still has a future at international level, pointing to the resurgence shown by wing Bryan Habana, South Africa’s all-time leading try-scorer who struggled last year and played just six of the team’s nine tests.
“I don’t want to knock individuals but the missed kicks were crucial,” he said. “Morne is mentally tough though and if you look at what happened to Bryan Habana, with the right guidance he is now playing phenomenal rugby again.
Continued…
