Morne Steyn has revealed that he always had hope of playing for South Africa - even before his strong showing in this year's Super 14.

The Bulls fly-half was included in the Springbok squad for the first time on Monday and is now a strong favourite to wear the number 10 jersey in the first Test against the British and Irish Lions in Durban on June 20.

"During the Vodacom Super 14 it was in the back of my mind that I would like to play for the Boks," said Steyn, who was one of the standout players as his Pretoria franchise were crowned Super 14 champions last Saturday when they defeated the Chiefs 61-17.

"The game against the Sharks was a big turning point and the semi-final against the Crusaders was one of those matches where everything went right for me.

"The ball bounced in my favour and it was great.

"Joining the Bok camp on Monday was a great experience. All the guys were great and welcomed me and I hope it will be a good tour."

Steyn will now be up against one of his old friends from Bloemfontein, Ruan Pienaar of the Sharks, for the crucial fly-half role.

The pair played together at primary school as a very promising half-back combination, before going their separate ways at high school.

He continued: "Ruan and I have come a long way since being together at junior school and we spoke about it on Monday.

"Back then we already dreamt about one day playing together for the Springboks. It is a big dream come true and hopefully it can carry on for a while."