KEY POINTS:
He visited parts of Dunedin last Saturday night that other prop forwards could not reach. Eighteen tackles for a loosehead prop is a decent effort in anyone's language but you have the devil of a job trying to get Springbok Gurthro Steenkamp to acknowledge it.
"Guess I was in the right place at the right time," is about as far as he's prepared to commit himself. But it's modesty, not a case of another sportsman being sheer bloody minded.
Consider too the fact that Steenkamp is trying to fill the enormous boots of the legendary Os du Randt, the South African rugby idol. But there's perhaps another reason for the 27 year-old Steenkamp's reticence to go overboard about Dunedin. He still bears the painful memory (and physical scars) of the serious wrist injury that came close to ending his career two years ago.
"At the end of 2006 there were doubts about whether I would play again. The wrist didn't want to heal and I was struggling."
But it did eventually although it cost him more than a year on the international sidelines. Such experiences tend to induce a certain caution about becoming too ecstatic at any victory thereafter.
"It was a great win in Dunedin, a great experience and achievement. We enjoyed the weekend but as soon as Monday came, we started to focus on this week's game. I think you have to be critical about your own performance, no matter what other people may say. You can't think you have played your greatest game because you might as well hang up your boots if you think that.
"I want to improve my whole game and better myself. It's been a long journey for me through all the injuries, I won't deny that. But perhaps those things make you stronger in the end and also make you realise how much you miss it when you are not there."
Succeeding Du Randt was a massive task for Steenkamp. "He left a great gap, he set immense standards. For us up-and-coming guys it's a huge challenge to step into the shoes of a guy like that. It is one of my biggest motivations to do this position justice in the light of the standards Os set.
"You always miss a player of his experience in the team. It makes things so much more settled in your side when you have a guy like that around, especially when times are tough. But we're lucky because we still have a nice blend of experience and youth."
New coach Peter de Villiers has empowered the Springboks to make their own decisions far more on the field, than in the Jake White era. Steenkamp welcomes that trend and says it is now up to the players to respond. "Wins like Dunedin raise the bar; now we have to keep maintaining those standards. The platform has been set and it's up to us to see where we can get to as a group in the next four years."
South Africa have recalled No 8 Pierre Spies, centre Francois Steyn and fullback Conrad Jantjes to the starting line-up for tomorrow's test against Australia in Perth.
Spies got the nod ahead of Joe van Niekerk, Steyn replaces the injured Adrian Jacobs and Jantjes reclaims the No 15 jersey from veteran Percy Montgomery.
Schalk Brits starts at hooker in place of the suspended Bismarck du Plessis. Reserve hooker Adriaan Strauss, who only joined the squad on Tuesday, is on the bench.
- ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY AAP
