Frans Steyn has spoken candidly about the influence Faf de Klerk has had on the Cheetahs since arriving in Bloemfontein in July, saying the side had been missing exactly the kind of player De Klerk has proven to be.
"The love he has for the Cheetahs over the past couple of weeks… there's nothing he wouldn't do for this team," Steyn said. "He's all in and wants to see this team get better every day; for that, the players have a lot of respect for him."
De Klerk has been among the standout performers of the 2026 Currie Cup, collecting multiple Player of the Match awards throughout the campaign. His most recent came after he crossed in the 79th minute to hand the Cheetahs a late victory over the Stormers, denying them a third win of their campaign.
Steyn was careful not to present an uncritical picture of his former Springbok teammate, making clear that De Klerk's performance against the Stormers would still be scrutinised internally. "He didn't do everything right on the weekend, and he'll hear that in the team meeting," Steyn said, "but he's good for this team at the moment; we missed somebody like that."
The Cheetahs travel to Loftus Versfeld this weekend, with a top-two finish in the tournament at stake.