With two British & Irish Lions trophies, a Tri-Nations win, three Super Rugby titles, Currie Cups and a French Top 14 trophy, Morne Steyn has achieved nearly all there is to accomplish in rugby.
The former Springbok and Blue Bulls flyhalf recently made a brief appearance on Gurthrö Steenkamp’s “The Lessons From the Game Podcast.” Here he reflected on some of his career successes, along with slotting the winning kick that won the Springboks both British & Irish Lions finals.
Hard work beats talent
In reflecting on his journey into professional rugby, adding that when he first arrived at the Bulls, he was ironically not a good kicker.
“When I arrived at the Bulls in 2003, I was not a kicker. I didn’t kick poles, I came from the Free State. I was a running fly-half. Then, Heyneke Meyer (former Bulls coach) told me that if I want to play at a higher level, I have to start working on my kicking game.”
He claims that this, along with the assistance from his kicking coach, did wonders for his game. It motivated him to work harder in training and ultimately paid off it big matches.
Different era of fly-halves
As of 2023, the 68-capped Springbok has been rendering his services to Lions Rugby, where he currently works as a kicking consultant.
He explains that a good work ethic in training is what most modern-day flyhalves are lacking.
“I work with a lot of younger guys now, and you can see that their work ethic is not the same. They just want to do what they have to do.”
“In my time, I would not leave the field until I am happy. I used to finish off by giving myself the last five kicks and ensuring that I slotted five out of five.”
The 41-year-old, who has scored more than 700 points for the Springboks, adds that it is important that one puts themselves under pressure on the training field so that they become used to it on game day.
Pointing out the past kicking woes of Manie Libbok, he added that during his playing days, it was almost impossible for a Springbok to be playing at the highest level with a kicking percentage less than 80%.
Recently, Libbok has shown vast improvement in his game. This was especially evident in his recent performance against the All Blacks where he slotted 6 / 7 kicks.
Speaking at a press conference, he explained that a lot of the credit goes towards the work he put in during training.
“I’ve put a lot of work into my kicking since I was struggling. I did everything in my power to get it right.”
