Steyn: Past is behind me

Frans Steyn insists the past is irrelevant as he looks to put a forgettable few weeks behind him when he runs out for South Africa against Australia on Saturday.

The Racing Metro full-back has been the centre of discussion since he was first prevented from taking part in a Springbok training camp by his French club.

His employers said at the time that he was injured, while there were also questions raised over his commitment by Peter de Villiers.

Steyn was then forced to skip last Saturday’s 29-22 defeat to New Zealand, but his national coach has since cleared the air by suggesting it was all part of a major breakdown in communication.

The 23-year-old is now hoping for a good on-field display to mark his first Test appearance since the victory over Wales in Cardiff at the start of the season.

“It is great to be back in the squad and I am looking forward to playing for the Springboks again,” he said.

“It is always an honour to play for the Springboks.

“I have enjoyed the week and look forward to the game. There was an improvement in the team’s performance last week and hopefully we can go one step further this weekend.

“What happened before is irrelevant now. What is important for me is that I am here to play rugby.

“I am determined to help the team do well.”

Asked whether his relationship with De Villiers had been strained by the whole debacle, the 37-times-capped World Cup winner responded: “There is nothing wrong.

“There may have been a minor breakdown in communication but we respect each other and are both focused on getting a result against Australia at the weekend.”

Meanwhile, namesake fly-half Morne Steyn is determined to see the world champions end their four-match losing streak in the Tri Nations.

He said: “Everyone is against us right now, they have written us off, so in a way the pressure is off.

“But then again, the pressure is back on ... we want to start winning again so we can go back to number one (in the world).

“It’s not nice losing four matches in a row and the confidence isn’t where it should be, but hopefully we can turn things around this weekend.

“We have two matches to go and want to win the Mandela Cup.”

The game will mark the 100th Test cap of Morne’s club captain at the Bulls, Victor Matfield, who will follow in the footsteps of skipper John Smit after he achieved the feat in Johannesburg seven days earlier.

While paying tribute to the veteran lock, Steyn warned it should not distract them from achieving victory at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.

He added: “Last week was a big emotional time for John and this week it will be the same for Victor, especially playing at Loftus.

“But we must put all that emotion that comes with it behind us and play for 80 minutes.

“We saw last week that the game is not over until the final whistle, so hopefully we can overcome the emotions and do the business.”