For mercurial playmaker Frans Steyn, planning for the Springbok series against Wales will have to wait until after he’s given his all to help the Cheetahs win the 2022 Currie Cup, reports DEVIN HERMANUS.
Jacques Nienaber is set to name his Bok squad before the end of May for three Tests against the Welsh in SA, with the first match due to kick off on 2 July in Pretoria.
Those players selected who would still be involved in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship – the final is on 18 June – will link up with the Boks at the end of the competition.
Steyn, who signed a one-year extension with the Free State Cheetahs on Tuesday, attended the second of the national alignment camps, and his experience and skill set could see him fill in at flyhalf, centre, wing or fullback against Wales in two months’ time.
However, the Currie Cup final is scheduled for 25 June, and the unbeaten Cheetahs have already booked a place in the semi-finals with three games to go in the round-robin stage, and face the fourth-placed Griquas on Saturday in Kimberley.
READ: Bok stars commit to Cheetahs
Steyn, having lifted the trophy with the Sharks in 2013, is determined to finish what he started nine victories ago with the Free Staters in rugby’s oldest tournament.
“For me, it would be very special winning [the Currie Cup] with the Cheetahs; it’s where I grew up and came to watch rugby here with my dad,” the two-time World Cup winner told media during the announcement of his new deal in Bloemfontein.
“I don’t care what people say about the Currie Cup, it’s still a very good competition to play. The traditions of the Currie Cup will never die.
“I think the intensity has lifted over the last few weeks. Come the semi-finals and the final and then you’ll see the strong lineups come out, and then it’s a good time for us to measure ourselves against the best.
“I already think we’ve achieved a lot … because this group hasn’t been together for five or six years. It doesn’t happen overnight, winning trophies.”
The 35-year-old added: “I went my whole career with the Sharks never having played [in Kimberley] and then I came to the Cheetahs and I’ve already played there four times!
“It’s going to be tough but we’re looking forward to building on what we’ve already achieved, and going forward the next few weeks. [Playing Wales] is a worry for another day – let us first win the Currie Cup.”
