With legendary Springbok player Francois Steyn announcing his retirement from rugby on Tuesday, it’s worth looking back at some of his incredible performances in the green and gold.
Now aged 36, Steyn’s decision was forced due to injury but his career was still long and paved with success.
Steyn made his Springbok debut in 2006 at age 19, and would go on to feature in 76 matches for South Africa. His career included two Rugby World Cup wins, in 2007 and 2019.
In fact, at age 20, Steyn became the youngest player to ever win the Rugby World Cup in 2007 which included a monster penalty in the final against England.
Another memorable in Steyn’s Bok career also came in 2007 in Cape Town. South Africa were playing Australia in the Tri-Nations and were three points behind in the closing stages of the match. Having fielded a clearance kick from Aussie Stephen Larkham, Steyn opted to outrageously go for a drop goal just next to the right hand touchline and 50m out. Incredibly, he slotted his attempt to bring his side level. And just for good measure, he would follow that up with a match-winning drop goal as well.
Here is another video of some of his best moments on a rugby field.
And who can forget when Steyn capped his phenomenal career when he drank from the Webb Ellis Cup in 2019.
As Steyn burst onto the scene, he brought up his 50th cap for the Springboks in 2012 and became the youngest to reach that milestone. However, Steyn didn’t play for the Springboks for three years until he was recalled to the side in 2017. Though he missed a fair chunk of his prime, Steyn still showed what a rare talent he was in the twilight of his career, often nailing massive penalties and drop goals.
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IOL Sport