Alberts did not play any rugby between June 2014 and April 2015. Since then he played to matches against SA sides and 3 on tour. He missed out of the Hurricanes game due to a niggle.
His stats for the various games have been as follows:-
Lions
Bulls
Waratahs
Reds
In the first instance it must be emphasized that it may be excusable to under-perform in the first return game. He definitely was substandard against the Lions - but he did show some good performance elements in the next game against the Bulls.
However lets evaluate the combined stats and see how he actually performed in the four games he played in since his return:
Ball play
Alberts handled the ball 33 times - of these he passed the ball 14 times and carried the ball 19 times. Alberts in the past was known for not passing balls - so the stats indicates an improvement in the relevant regard. However, it must be born in mind that he did take 6 line-out balls, meaning that 6 of the passed balls occurred in line-out situations.
In the four games he played in he carried balls 19 times for a net territory gain of 56 meters - representing an average meter gain of 2, 95 meter per carry. However, the major part of his carries took place in one game where the meter gain was 45 from 11 carries - but this was not sustained in the other three games - where 8 carries resulted in a meter gain of 11. In essence - although Alberts is always touted as a strong and effective ball carrier - his stats does not support that general concept amongst some members of the public.
Defenders beaten
In his 19 carries he beat 1 defender - also not supporting the general believe amongst certain sectors of the public.
Tackle Stats
Alberts is reputed to be a strong tackler and in a few tackles it did happen. However one has to look at his tackle stats to see whether he lives up to his reputation.
Tackles Attempted - 38
Tackles missed - 12
Missed tackle ratio - 24%
In essence Alberts roughly miss one in every 4 cases where he attempts a tackle. That is way too poor a record to be acceptable in respect of a loose forward. So his assessment in this case is UNSATISFACTORY
In this regard the speed deficiency of Alberts is certainly the reason fo the unacceptable missed tackle situation. However, there is another issue and that is where Alberts should be able to make tackles, but where players just run past him - without any attempt on his part to make a tackle.
CONCLUSION
Alberts remains a low work rate player with serious question marks as to his reliability as a defender. That makes him a very questionable selection for the Springbok team.
