- Ruan Pienaar has hailed the impact of Frans Steyn on the Cheetahs squad, noting that he strikes a nice balance between being a mentor and being youthful.
- The two men provide the central franchise with the rare luxury of two world-class players adding proven pedigree into the squad mix.
- Steyn admits he's nervous for his debut but his coach, Hawies Fourie, struggles to believe that.
33 going on 18.
That's the vibe Frans Steyn has brought to the Cheetahs squad since his prominent return to Bloemfontein back in July.
The wily Springbok midfielder will make his debut for the central franchise when they take on the Pumas in a Super Rugby Unlocked meeting at home on Saturday and while he's considered a key veteran, he doesn't always "act" like one.
"Although he is one of the older guys like me he sometimes behaves like an 18-year old and that’s good because he connects with the younger guys and they enjoy it. He brings a lot of experience and a lot of knowledge," said his decorated former Bok teammate and franchise captain, Ruan Pienaar.
"It's been great to have Frans in Bloem here. I've obviously played a lot of rugby with him, so it is nice to have him around, but I think the younger guys really enjoy having him around."
While his on-field exploits at training might let him belie his age, Steyn has still taken his role as senior player very seriously.
Cheetahs
15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Malcolm Jaer, 13 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 12 Frans Steyn, 11 Rosko Specman, 10 Tian Schoeman, 9 Ruan Pienaar (captain), 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Junior Pokomela, 6 Andisa Ntsila, 5 Walt Steenkamp, 4 Carl Wegner, 3 Luan de Bruin, 2 Reinach Venter, 1 Charles Marais
Substitutes: 16 Louis van der Westhuizen, 17 Boan Venter, 18 Erich de Jager, 19 JP du Preez, 20 Chris Massyn, 21 Aidon Davis, 22 Tian Meyer, 23 William Small-Smith
Pumas
15 Devon Williams, 14 Luther Obi, 13 Wayne van der Bank, 12 Ryan Nell (captain), 11 Neil Maritz, 10 Eddie Fouché, 9 Ginter Smuts, 8 Willie Engelbrecht, 7 Kwanda Dimaza, 6 Daniel Maartens, 5 Cameron Lindsay, 4 Le Roux Roets, 3 Ruan Kramer, 2 Marko Janse van Rensburg, 1 Morgan Naudé.
Substitutes: 16 Simon Westraadt, 17 Liam Hendricks, 18 Dewald Maritz, 19 Darrien Landsberg, 20 Jeandré Rudolph, 21 Dian Badenhorst, 22 Niel Marais, 23 Ruwellyn Isbell
"In meetings, he has been quite vocal in sharing his views so it has been great in having someone of his calibre in the squad," said Pienaar.
Indeed, the 67-cap international provides his great friend and the franchise in general with a rare luxury: having more than one pedigreed if somewhat ageing player present to infuse an underrated squad with wisdom and proven class.
Pienaar, who admits his competitive fire still burns brightly, himself has shown at age 36 that he's still indispensable since arriving just over a year ago.
"Fransie and I make up quite a lot of experience being older than the guys. But for me, you learn from the younger guys. I’ve always been quite stressed about games and worried about the outcome and how you perform. The younger guys teach you to enjoy the game as well," he said.
"Sometimes you are so worried about the outcome that you forget to just enjoy it. So especially now when we haven’t been out to play for a long time, it is nice to get excited again."
Steyn admitted to OFM earlier that he "is a little nervous", a comment that elicited a chuckle from Hawies Fourie, his head coach.
"It's strange for me to hear Frans has nerves going into this game," said the Cheetahs mentor with a smile.
"That's certainly not the impression I've gotten from him. There's more excitement than nerves for this competition. We finally get to play again."
Kick-off in Bloemfontein is at 16:30.