Kyle Steyn is desperate to earn a return to the Scotland squad for next Sunday’s World Cup match against Tonga after being left devastated by his omission for the opening defeat by his birth country South Africa.
The 29-year-old wing started all five Six Nations matches earlier this year in the absence of injured talisman Darcy Graham and he went into the global showpiece in France buoyed by having scored three tries in the last two summer warm-up matches, including a double away to Les Bleus.
But with the fit-again Graham and Duhan van der Merwe handed the two starting berths on the wing and full-back Ollie Smith, centre Cam Redpath and scrum-half Ali Price the three backs chosen for bench duty, Johannesburg-born Steyn had to watch from the stand at Stade Velodrome as Scotland suffered an 18-3 defeat by the Springboks.
With the Scots having posted their lowest-scoring outing since losing the 2019 World Cup opener 27-3 to Ireland and failing to score a try for the first time in almost three years, prolific Glasgow captain Steyn is knocking on the door for a return to the fold when Gregor Townsend’s side return to action in Nice next weekend.
“I was gutted, I was absolutely gutted,” said Steyn, reflecting on being left out of the 23 for the opener in Marseille. “But I also understood that the guys who were picked ahead of me are phenomenal players who are in great form, and I think that’s the good thing about our squad at the moment, that we’ve got that level of competitiveness.
“You just have to accept you might find yourself on the wrong side of that sometimes.
“I’m desperate to be back in the squad next week. Especially with having two weeks off, there’s a real want for the squad to get back out there and put our best foot forward, and I want to be part of that, I want to be in the 23.”
The prospect of facing Tonga brings back “special” memories for Steyn.
In what was his first start for the national team in October 2021, the wing became the first player to score four tries in one match for Scotland as they defeated the Pacific Islanders 60-14 at Murrayfield.
“It was a great day out,” he recalled. “It was our first game at Murrayfield with fans back (since the pandemic) and I did well so I look back on it with good memories.
“It’s an incredibly special day to look back on. I think about how much history Scottish rugby has and to have a small piece of it like that, myself and my family are incredibly proud.
“I remember some pretty hard hits as well that day so I’m sure it will be a tough game next weekend.”
Steyn reflected on events in the Scottish camp this week after hooker Dave Cherry was forced to withdraw from the squad with concussion sustained after a fall at the team’s hotel last Monday and Stuart McInally – due to retire after the World Cup – was drafted in as his replacement having missed out on selection last month.
“We’re gutted for Dave that it’s ended like that,” said Steyn. “We wish him well. We’re happy first and foremost that he’s healthy and he’ll be OK.
“The flip side is that we’ve got Rambo (McInally), who didn’t make the squad and was retiring on 49 caps and so it’s great to have someone with that experience who is also bringing a fresh energy in.
“You can see his desire to get out there and get his 50th cap, so it’s great for the squad to have him with us.”
Smith not pinning blame on Ford for England loss
Marcus Smith does not blame England's narrow defeat to New Zealand on Saturday on George Ford, despite his late missed kicks.
Ford replaced Smith, who had scored 17 points and set up England's only try in their 24-22 loss, hitting a potential match-winning penalty against the post before narrowly missing a drop goal.
England had held an eight-point advantage when Smith left the field, but Mark Tele'a's 76th-minute try before Damian McKenzie added five late points proved enough to get the All Blacks over the line.
The hosts' autumn series got off to a losing start as Ford struggled to find his clinical edge in the dying moments, but Smith does not lay any blame at his team-mate's feet.
"Sometimes that's the life of a kicker, we've all experienced that. It's part and parcel of the job," said Smith.
"I've learned so much off George. He's an unbelievable kicker, both off the tee and out of hand. It was one of those days.
"It's nothing to do with him why we didn't win the game. It's a team effort. Every kicker in the world has experienced that.
"We practise [drop-goals] as kickers every single day, but sometimes it doesn't go for you. We're all human and people miss."
Saturday marked a third consecutive narrow loss to New Zealand for England, with their last win an emphatic victory over Japan in June.
Despite that run, Smith remains confident that England can take lessons from these defeats to set themselves up for success in the future.
"International rugby is very different to the Premiership and the experiences we're experiencing now are very painful, but we'll be better for them," Smith added.
"Keep the faith. We've fallen again on the wrong side of the result, but we'll learn from it 100%.
"These experiences will tighten us as a group, and it will be worth it in the long run. We will be better for it."
England 'banging on the door' of rugby's elite, says proud Borthwick
Steve Borthwick reckons England are "banging on the door" of the elite nations after their close loss to New Zealand.
England went down 24-22 to the All Blacks in Saturday's Test match at Twickenham.
Mark Tele'a scored the decisive try for New Zealand, who beat England twice in July, in the 76th minute.
England missed the chance to win it late on when George Ford missed a drop-goal attempt, after he had struck the post with a penalty.
But coach Borthwick, who was immensely proud of his team, feels England showed they are capable of mixing it with the best teams in the world, despite losing four of their last five Tests.
"It is a mixture of immense pride at the performance against a very tough New Zealand team and one of incredible disappointment," Borthwick told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"They are the emotions we balance and will work through over the next few days.
"When we started two years ago we wanted to get England right to the top of world rugby again. You can see the team banging on the door."
With the pre-match build-up having been dominated by Joe Marler's jibe at New Zealand's pre-match haka routine, tries from Tele'a and Will Jordan put New Zealand in control.
Marcus Smith's penalties kept England in contention, though, and he set up the hosts' only try when he intercepted a loose pass and teed up Immanuel Feyi-Waboso.
Yet England ultimately failed to hold on to an eight-point advantage, with Ford having to be consoled by his team-mates after the match.
Next up for England are Australia, with fixtures against South Africa and Japan also in store.
"We really have to find a way of winning these close ones," said captain Jamie George. "We put ourselves in a really good position after 60 minutes.
"Eight points is a lot in Test match rugby but we probably went chasing the game a bit and gave away too many penalties. We have to be smarter in that respect."
England walked up to the halfway line to face the haka, something George explained was planned prior to Marler's comments.
"That was always our plan before Joe's comments but we did it in a respectful way," said George. "I saw a smile on Scott Barrett’s face, I was smiling, and it was done in good spirits."
England aiming to be one of 'world's best' teams, says Earl
England have aspirations of greatness, asserted Ben Earl as he prepares to face New Zealand in a friendly at Twickenham.
The 26-year-old was optimistic about the progress England had made under Steve Borthwick despite registering two losses at the hands of the All Blacks in July.
England will be seeking revenge after losing the second match of the test in a devastatingly close 16-15 defeat. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso had scored a try to put England ahead after scores had been tied 10-10 at half-time, but two penalty kicks from Damian McKenzie ended their hopes.
Earl, however, believes the heartbreak has given his country an opportunity to develop.
“I think it’s an experience all the big teams go through, you have to go through some heartache to get over the line,” he told TNT Sports.
“It just feels like it’s the evolution of all the top teams, and we are a team that wants to be known as a great team, some of the world’s best.
“So we know the heartache is good for a while, but it’s time to go and do it at the right time. We got a glimpse of it against Ireland last year, and we feel we are due one, and we have learnt some really hard lessons over the summer, so we feel we are in a better place for it.
“We have always said you don’t win easily against us and that’s something we have developed over the last 18 months with Steve’s mindset and the boys getting hold of it, and now I feel it’s time to get over the line in one of these big games.”
New Zealand have won their last three matches, having defeated Japan and secured a double over Australia. They struggled against reigning world champions South Africa, however, as they failed to exact revenge on the Springboks in late summer tests falling to defeat twice.
Undoubtedly, the All Blacks still represent some of the best talent in the world, with Earl expected to line up opposite New Zealand’s superstar Wallace Sititi.
“There’s stardust littered all over the pitch isn’t there? There’s some pretty cool match-ups; it just feels like a game that isn’t going to disappoint,” he said.
England won’t be overawed, though. Instead, they aim to make their west London home a fortress for visiting sides to travel to.
“[Twickenham is] a place where we want to be really, really hard to beat. And we’ve always said in the camp, if you want to beat us at Twickenham you are going to have to be over and above the norm,” Earl said.
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