The charade that was the 2011 Tri-Nations tour

by Mike Greenaway

FOR those of us unfortunate enough to have witnessed close at hand the charade that was the 2011 Tri-Nations tour, there was the comfort that the exercise in futility – emptily fulfilling obligations to SANZAR – at least confirmed a few things we only sort of new.

For instance, that Butch James once against will be the World Cup flyhalf. When he returned home from Bath, his impact on how a losing Lions team changed its game towards the end of Super Rugby contrasted with how the Bulls laboured all year under out-of-form Morne Steyn.

Maybe it was because Steyn, in turn, was playing behind a pack that was going through the motions in Super Rugby until about the halfway mark, but that is now beyond the point.

It was curious indeed that Steyn, who unbelievably was just 30 minutes shy of playing every minute of the Bulls’ four-month campaign, was asked to tour in the first place while Bulls and Springbok teammates that had played half as many games were sent for Rest and Recuperation in Rustenburg.

To put it bluntly, Steyn was hung out to dry in Sydney, and 39 Wallaby points later, the Springbok coaching staff smugly felt that their point had been made. Goodbye Morne, welcome back Butch, the 2007 pivot when the Boks won in Paris.

Patrick Lambie was the interim measure when he started against the All Blacks in Wellington, and an extremely good one, too. He showed he is good enough to go to the World Cup as a utililty back that can cover 12, 10 and 15, and in terms of World Cups – as the starting 10. He will have his time at World Cups, probably three or four of them!

But in the here and now, in Sydney Steyn was given a last chance to show that he can indeed bring his backline into play and offer more than brilliant goal and field kicking.

On attack, it did not happen for him and the backline in Sydney against the Wallabies, and his defence let him down once more. And that was that that for Steyn and his World Cup chances of being the starting 10. He will be in the squad, sure, as will Lambie, but almost by default Butch is back in the saddle again.

The irony is that Butch came from nowhere in 2007, when Andre Pretorius had been the first-choice flyhalf but went into the tournament under a typical injury cloud and could not make the big first round kick-off again Samoa, and Butch played a blinder; and now it looks like Butch has struck again at World Cup time.

Steyn was ignominiously moved to fullback for last week’s match against the All Blacks, and that said everything – a tired player who had been made to tour and then picked out of position.

The only thing about Butch being our World Cup flyhalf in 2011 is that in 2007 he had Percy Montgomery at fullback to kick the goals. In 2011, Butch will be the primary kicker and his back-up will be Frans “spray gun” Steyn. Butch kicked very well during his time at Bath, but does he have what it takes to nail the big kicks that Morne Steyn does in his sleep?

I am not taking sides here, because I value the other tricks that Butch brings to the party that dead eye dick does not.

However you look at it, leaving out Steyn – as appears to be the direction they are heading – is a brave call.