Lambie No1 for No10

26 July 2011 - 02:29 By Craig Ray
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Sharks flyhalf Patrick Lambie is set to make his first start in a Springbok jersey against the All Blacks in Wellington.

Morné Steyn, who played flyhalf against Australia at the weekend, will be shown the door after another poor performance as the Boks slumped to a 39-20 defeat.

Steyn's test career is at a crossroads and he appears to be running out of games to win back the confidence of coach Peter de Villiers.

Steyn, with 25 tests and 322 points (before the match) and a senior member of the team, was supposed to offer leadership and direction in addition to his skills as a flyhalf against the Wallabies.

But he added no value from a motivational or tactical perspective, and is now set to the pay the price by losing what, until the start of this season, was his unquestionable claim to the Bok No 10 jersey.

The 20-year-old Lambie has made five substitute appearances as a Springbok and will finally have a chance to strut his stuff from the outset against the toughest opponents in the planet after displaying some nice touches when he entered the fray against the Wallabies on Saturday.

There was more urgency when Lambie took the field and his willingness to attack the advantage line, instead of lying deep as Steyn does, asks more questions of opposing defences.

He is also more vocal than Steyn, which is an asset in organising the defence and structuring attack. With Ruan Pienaar at scrumhalf and Wynand Olivier at inside centre, the Boks lacked a strong leader in the crucial 9, 10, 12 axis.

At the Bulls Fourie du Preez and Francois Hougaard fill that role, allowing Steyn in particular to go about his business quietly. But in this Bok setup, the flyhalf needs to be a leader and Lambie is clearly the man for the job.

De Villiers has apparently reached the end of his tether with Steyn and it is now not just a question of whether Steyn will have another chance in the Tri-Nations, but whether he will even go to the World Cup.

That was unthinkable 12 months ago, but Steyn's star has waned so dramatically in the past year that his confidence at test level is in shreds.

Undoubtedly, if the Boks needed a penalty in the last minute to win a World Cup final, Steyn, circa 2009, would be an ideal man for the job. But the way he is playing at present, the Boks will never be close enough for that situation to arise.

Indications from the Springboks' Sydney base are that the backline will undergo a reshuffle for the match against the number one-ranked team in the world.

Juan de Jongh and Adi Jacobs could be the new centre pairing although Olivier, another under-performer at the weekend, might earn a reprieve at inside centre to combat the size of Sonny Bill Williams.

Scrumhalf Ruan Pienaar, who also had a poor game against the Wallabies, is set to retain his place though. He last played a match in May for club Ulster and was clearly underdone going into the Australia test.

The pressure has also mounted on the enigmatic Pienaar, whose performances vary from sublime to abject.

De Villiers will certainly be hoping that Fourie du Preez and Francois Hougaard make full recoveries.

But the biggest issue, aside from skipper John Smit's form, centres on Steyn and what to do with a man with proven ice in his veins.

Management are hoping Lambie provides the answers on Saturday.

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