Kyle Steyn would love a crack at South Africa - and there's a case to be made for him to start

In the rush to acclaim the dazzling and devastating talents of Darcy Graham and Duhan van der Merwe on the Scotland wings, the merits of Kyle Steyn can sometimes be overlooked.

But the Glasgow Warriors captain has started eight of the national side’s last nine matches and actually boasts a better tries-per-games average than both Graham and van der Merwe. The Johannesburg-born Steyn scored the ninth try of his 13-cap career in the 33-6 win over Georgia at the weekend and is understandably desperate to retain the jersey for Scotland’s Rugby World Cup opener against South Africa in Marseille a week on Sunday. He may lack the explosive pace and spectacular chops of his two wing rivals but there is a case to be made for Steyn who offers solidity, is safer under the high ball and has worked hard to improve his defence. He has never faced the Springboks before and it would mean something special to him and his family were he to be selected. “I didn’t get to play in the autumn [in 2021, Scotland’s last match against South Africa],” he said. “So we’ll see what happens in the next two weeks, but I’d love a crack against them.”

Steyn was a late addition to the team to play Georgia on Saturday, drafted in when Graham failed to recover from a thigh strain, and he played the full 80 minutes, scoring Scotland’s fourth try. It was his third start in the four-game summer warm-up programme and he was also selected for all five of Scotland’s Six Nations games this season, filling the wing berths with van der Merwe while Graham was laid low by a serious knee injury. The Edinburgh pair are most people’s favourites to start for Scotland at the World Cup but Steyn knows he’s put his hand up. “It’s a good group to be a part of,” he said. “Those 11 and 14 jerseys are tough to come by, so I’m just happy to have made it competitive. If it’s not to be, it’s not to be.”

At 29, Steyn is the senior partner in the wingers’ group and has had to be patient for his chance. He made his Scotland debut in the 2020 Six Nations, coming off the bench against France to help secure a 28-17 home win. A long-term hamstring injury then intervened and he wasn’t capped again until the following year’s autumn internationals when he marked his first international start with a four-try haul against Tonga. In doing so he become the first player to score four tries for Scotland since Gavin Hastings did it against Côte d'Ivoire at the 1995 World Cup in South Africa. Steyn, whose mother Gillian is from Glasgow, also scored try doubles this year against Wales in the Six Nations and France in Saint-Etienne and his tally of nine in 13 matches compares very favourably with van der Merwe (20 in 31) and Graham (19 in 35)

Scotland's Kyle Steyn acknowledges the supporters after the 33-6 win over Georgia at Scottish Gas Murrayfield. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

“I don’t like to talk about this, because I don’t want to jinx it, but yeah it’s all right,” Steyn said of his try haul. “Duhan obviously got two on Saturday, and he and Darcy are closing in on the all-time record. Like I said, I’m just trying to keep it as competitive as I can.”