Chassis strength and torsional rigidity of the VW pan are a bit of a hobby-horse of mine ;-)
so I will be doing what I can to beef things up on the build; the brace is the first part of it.
I really am pleased to have found a bolt-on Rack & Pinion install for the car (although it ain't bolted on just yet so I'll reserve judgement - but it looks promising). Interestingly I'm told that a steering damper isn't required with the conversion.
Thanks to all for the comments, I will update asap.