Centres.....are there any answers

Our centres were almost irrelevant against Ireland....only one barging run by Allende in our second test revival counted. Finding a centre pairing that functions remains our most pressing selection problem....even more pressing than tighthead or flyhalf. 
So far this year we have regressed at 8th man, fullback, tighthead, blindside .....and certainly centre. We have only found new answers at scrumhalf and right wing.
But centre is by far our biggest issue. We were pretty hopeless at the WC where defensive lapses by Allende and Kriel were big contributors to our Japan and NZ losses. And on attack they did almost nothing....they could simply find no way to insert themselves in the action. Their best contributions were a few turnovers by Allende in the NZ game.
But if their WC was bad....now they are worse! Kriel totally toothless at centre for the Bools is back at fullback....you can forget about him as a centre.
Allende seems uncertain...robotic. The most striking feature about this player is the ability to lose what he previously did well. He was good at offloads last S15....never seen again. At the WC he was good at turnovers...he hardly contests the downed ball  anymore. Last year he could break tackles....this year he is regularly stopped by the first tackler. Rather than adding new skills, he seems to lose old skills.

No doubt Allende was the brightest new prospect for years, with all the physical attributes. But mentally he seems to be a slow learner, uncertain and quick to lose confidence. His ability to create anything via the pass is about zero right now.
Step in the meantime continues to be dog ordinary. Esterhosen is a big clumsy fellow, who doesn't really look test class, but in a centre famine may have to be considered. Mapoe and de Jongh can fill in...but aren't the long term answer. It's bleak.
About the only bright spot is van Rensburg who dominated Step before the international break and continues to score tries and make big metres. But his defensive stats aren't great....and he is playing in a dominating team. Still he looks to be the best new option and the one player that generates some enthusiasm.

 at this moment I would go for a van Rensburg-F. Venter combination,...... van Rensburg is now the inform attacking center in SA,...... Venter seems the only one with a rugby brain and able to organize the backline

but changing a pair of black centers with 2 whities would make really difficult to reach the quotas

There is no problem at center. Allende was give a stupid role to play and he did it as best he could. The platform up front was hardly set and the Boks allowed the Irish to slow our ball down. This was the compounded by Coetzee having Allende trying to smash through the line they constantly. You don't watch TV on your microwave do you? That's probably because it's not what it's meant for. Don't blame the product for not working when you're using it the wrong way boss.

 Still, Janse van Reassure looks pretty good. The only problem I see with Allende is that he fails to make the offload after falling over the defender. Not a train smash, it's a relatively basic skills to incorporate.

 He has shown that he can do the job. The Stormers has a few new players and coaching staff and he came back from a long injury. After the first match against the Irish, we were on the back foot and couldn't recover. We should stick with what we have and try options from the bench. The best 12 in the game last year, can't just suddenly lose his mojo. Get someone to fix the problem! Let Flekkie give Eddie a call...he did promise to help out, didn't he. Ca?l in all the favours in the black book. Brendon Venter is supposed to be a rugby genius? Call him, call Mitch, call Hanson for all I care, just fix it!!!

 
the problem with de Allende is not only when he plays for the boks,..... he's been average with the stormers,..... and, as mozart said, seems that he's going backwards

the comparison of his last year's stats with this year's and those of van Rensburg clearly point to it

Damian de Allende 2015

Player Comparison
MidfieldPosition-16Games played01,246Minutes played0

• Attack
• Defence & Discipline

Attack

Damian de AllendePlayer Comparison
4Tries020Points0156Carries0800Metres026Clean Breaks076Defenders Beaten024Offloads02Try Assists078Passes014Open play kicks01Lineout catches0



Damian de Allende 2016

Player ComparisonRohan Janse van RensburgMidfieldPositionMidfield9Games played14625Minutes played585

• Attack
• Defence & Discipline

Attack

Damian de AllendePlayer ComparisonRohan Janse van Rensburg2Tries810Points4083Carries80282Metres4726Clean Breaks1519Defenders Beaten271Offloads51Try Assists131Passes3411Open play kicks2

this year he has played half the time so for the comparison we can double this year's stats for clean breaks, DB and Offloads:

                                    2015           2016

-Clean Breaks                   26             12
-Def. Beaten                     76             38
-Offloads                          24               2

-meters/run                     5.1             3.4

the comparison with van Rensburg is as eloquent, having played almost the same amount of time Van Rensburg stats are far better

Not a train smash, it's a relatively basic skills to incorporate.
Test rugby is the highest echelon of the game. You should have the basic skills down pat by the time you get there. If you, as a centre, can't even judge when to pass the ball, or realize that you should pass the ball, what are you doing at the highest echelon?

 There is no answer if we play the kind of rugby where the centers get the balls in rare occasions after it was handled by the loosies or other forwards and where a game is played where the balls are kicked away the balls and let the opposing teams counter-attack.   Where the players veered from the obvious game plan and start playing attacking rugby the situation changed drastically.   The problem is not only the fault of the players - it is a seriously deficient game plan and inadequate coaching of backline players.   Until that is corrected we have no chance f getting reasonable backline players.  Mozart has no idea about what is happening and he takes stats as the norm in this case.     

 There is no answer if we play the kind of rugby where the centers get the balls in rare occasions after it was handled by the loosies or other forwards and where a game is played where the balls are kicked away the balls and let the opposing teams counter-attack.   Where the players veered from the obvious game plan and start playing attacking rugby the situation changed drastically.   The problem is not only the fault of the players - it is a seriously deficient game plan and inadequate coaching of backline players.   Until that is corrected we have no chance f getting reasonable backline players.  Mozart has no idea about what is happening and he takes stats as the norm in this case.     

DDA's 2015 stats are stunningly good - a reminder just how good he really was. He is clearly not the same player he was last year. Nothing to do with the coach - 2015 he was with Coetzee. Put it down to too much rugby - a full Super season, WC warm-up tests, the WC and then a Japanese season leading to a significant ankle injury he clearly came back from too quickly and is still carrying. Frankly, if the Stormers or Boks had any depth he should be resting. 
Most troubling is the decline in offloads. A lack of confidence maybe? surely it all contributes - fatigue, the ankle, new center pairing, new coach?
Agree w/ AB that Venter should be considered as well. Tackles over 80% and looks to offload. He won't set the world alight, but he's a competent place holder until DeAllende gets his mojo back. 
Last thing we want is a Frans Steyn situation - a poster child for mismanagement and wasted talent.

 Matey, he is the same player, but something is off...good coaching should be able to fix it.

What a load of crap.....one would swear the Irish centres tore us apart....one would swear Crotty and Fek stood our for the AB's against Wales....one would swear Farrell and Joseph did the same against Oz or that Kurandrani did the same against England.
de Allende made a huge impression in one of the tests, was fantastic last year as was Jessie Kriel at 13.....both are getting back to their best. Kriel is at fullback because Gelant is injured and its better to have Kriel, Swanepoel and Odendaal starting than having average SP Marais in the side. Simple really, but trust this obvious fact to go straight over the top,
Serfontein has been very good for the Bulls this year, back to the man attacking space and not bashing as he did under conservative Meyer and Ludeke.
Odendaal back from injury showed in his last two outings for the Bulls that he is a real talent.
Frans Venter from the Cheetahs has been fantastic this year, he has test centre written all over him.....so much better than a player like Farrell for instance.
Rohan Janse v/Rensburg has been the find of the season. Mapoe has been fantastic for the Lions but got no ball in the tests.
Vortser is a class act who is only 21 and will be back and Andre Esterhuizen has been good for the Sharks
I'll like the look of du Plessis playing 13 for the Stormers, Michael du Plessis's son.
Our tighthead position is better than it has ever been. Malherbe and Marcel v/d Merwe are better than Jannie, CJ or BJ ever were. In Koch we have another good tighthead and in Wilco Louw back from injury we have a real one to watch.
We have options to burn at 8.......Marcel Coetzee would be perfect there, Arno Botha has been good for the Bulls, as had Liebenberg. The impressive Mtembu is back from injury and a real prospect at 8. Whiteley has been fantastic there. A real option at 8 is Notsche given his Skinstad like skills.
At blindside, we have options to burn......playing Kolisi there is laughable. Jacques du Plessis has been Jake White's best forward, he has been huge at 7. This guy is a far better prospect than Alberts ever was.......same size but a much better athlete. Kirtsen has been fantastic for the Bulls at 7. The du Preez twins have been freaks at times. Elstadt has always been a quality physical 7. Oupa has been good for the SA A side and Cheetahs.
Willie is a class act not in the greatest form. Gelant is going to be huge for SA at 15. Coetzee has been great for the Lions
We have options to burn in every position.

We have options to burn in every position....er correction....we have options that have been burned  in every position. This laughable notion that we have all these world beaters, only let down by poor coaching is the most persistent fable in our rugby.
Not one South African backline player, not one loose forward, not one front row forward would make the AB match 23 right now. Etzebeth has a shot. That's closer to the truth....but believe in the fantasy if you wish. Hell its a free choice.

 Balls Mozart.   We have at least two players that will walk into the AB's match 23 - Etzebeth and Du Toit.   There is a question mark - a bad one.  After years of BS selections and no squad building there is a lot of catch-up work to be done and that will hardly be done in one season.     

 Nothing to do with selection at Springbok level....too many of these journeymen have been selected. And oh boy I really got that wrong you think 2 players would make the 23 not one....big frigging difference Punchbag.

 Egg-collector - still farting about issues resulting the main from Meyer's era of rubbish selectins and a geriatric game plan.    It will take years to correct that damage.        

 Egg-collector - still farting about issues resulting the main from Meyer's era of rubbish selectins and a geriatric game plan.    It will take years to correct that damage.        

"It will take years to correct that damage"
Nonsense Mike, stop thumb-sucking. No Bok coach in history did more damage than Rudolph Straeuli. Jake White needed half a season to turn that mess around and win a Tri-Nations. A competent coach doesn't need years to make progress and fix basic problems. Just like White took a bunch of no-name brands at the Brumbies to a Super Rugby final in one season.

Yes ... I think we have a few good options.
We are used to a Jean De Villiers type at 12 and anything different provokes debate. I'm not sure why? Perhaps it's cause many find change a difficult thing to accept.
Jean wasn't a power player like De Allende is ... nor did he have a fall on your ass step on him. He was known for the intercept try and that's basically his legacy. A good solid player but not someone to have lit the world ablaze. He brought a certain sense of intelligence to our game but wasn't known to get the backline away ... sadly. 
De Allende hit the scene with some powerful runs and I thought he would take it to the next level when representing his country. He didn't. The De Allende of a few seasons back is the De Allende of today. He's learnt nothing. He's brought nothing extra into his game. He's a non passing crashballer that stifles any backline movement. He cannot read the game and has as much creativity as my wife's pot roast.
I don't rate Crotty as anything special ... but in his defence, he makes up for his lack of talent by using his brain. He reads the game well and can be rather creative. He brings a certain unpredictability tyo the game and his team benefits from it. He's also a solid defender and light years ahead of the muscled De Allende.
We must also take into consideration that we do not have any centers with decent test experience. It's a level of rugby that can make any prospect look ordinary. Some debutantes hit the ground running while others take a test or three to come into their own ... and yet still others never seem to make the step up at all.
We have no choice but to test the best prospects we have and to my mind that's guys like Janse van Rensburg, Vorster, Venter, Odendaal, Swanepoel and De Jongh.
Yes, Mike ... I said DeJongh. He cannot be any worse than Mapoe and deserves a decent shot. He may be a little on the small side but a nasty step he has and he's strong in the upper body. Worth a look. 
The All Blacks were spoilt with Nonu. It's going to take some doing to find someone of that calibre.
My choices as 12 & 13 would be Janse van Rensburg and Vorster.

  

 FactWhen somebody adds "Fact" to the end of their sentence, they are usually stating a controversial opinion, as if the addition of the word makes it so just because they said so.

Usually it is a sign of unwarranted self-importance.Idiot: Megadeth are dead after Rust in Peace. Fact. 
Sane person: No, that's just your opinion.

 Let's get you onto facts you seem to know something about Dave.....have you ever been to a Duran Duran concert?

 Mozart - the selection of Meyer did massive damage to development of potential Springbok players in SA.    If some SA players who were never picked by Meyer because they played for the wrong franchises were in fact playing in NZ - they would have made hay in that country.  In SA they had no chance - since Meyer would not pick them and reputation selections of donkeys who could not deliver anything since the reputation was years ago and over the last two years of Meyer's coaching they were seriously defective.       

He picked new Boks...Kolisi,  Botha, Daniel, Potgieter, Mohoje, Carr, Whiteley, Coetzee, Lomp, Steph, Flip Flop, Etzebeth, Juandre Kruger, Malherbe, Marcel, Koch, Coenie,  Greyling, 
Reinach, Hougaard at 9, Goosen, Jantjies, Pollard, Step, JJ, Taute, Kriel, Allende, Hendricks, Willie.

And he didn't pick who?  Faf and Kriel. 
All these players were given an opportunity....Pollard, Etzebeth and Willie made a case for themselves. Most of the others were pretty damn underwhelming. That's not only the coach's fault.....the individual has to find a way to contribute. If Pollard can succeed....why can't Step. Give me a break.

OuDawie, you're taking the p!ss  ............... surely ?

 Listen Mozart.   Meyer never picked anybody that was not forced onto him because of the retirement or serious injury of players.  That list you wrote never had any period during which they could develop on test level.   Just ask yourself one question and answer it honestly.  How many of the younger players in the WC squad had less than 10 games experience?   They were totally unprepared for a competition like the WC?  The backline players struggled because of the game plan that did not allow for any backline usage.  If Meyer was that good - why was his contract not extended?   Because the whole system he introduced stank to high heaven.          

 A lot of players have missed their call up through personal preferences. It's been going on like this since the day Moses fell off his camel ... and guess what ... ?? ... it'll continue till the sky falls on our heads.
We now have a race based policy added to this unfortunate process.
Meyer has by no means damaged SA rugby more so that Markgraaff, Du Plessis, Viljoen, Straeuli, and De Villiers. I do not for the life of me understand your latest absurdity.
Where do you get this nonsense from?? Are you on drugs?
Coetzee will and already has done us harm ... but none of it is a permanent feature ... nor will it taint future Bok teams. LOL!!!
Each coach has to be taken on his own merits.  
Eddie Jones could have fixed Meyer's blunders in a blink ... and every other blundering coach's mistakes as well. It would probably have taken him all of 5 minutes to do so.
Get your head into the fresh air, Mike ... you're talking crap!!!

 

The general idea is you observe and then form a conclusion. Poor old Mike forms a conclusion and then bends facts to conform with his nutty vision.

 The only person who bends facts is Mozart -you bend the and if they are not vailable - you invent some stories which you try and turn into facts - the truth is precious - so Mozart principle remains, nobody should abuse the truth by overuse.    

Facts are not facts unless proven. Fact!

 Well Punchbag you are in no danger of abusing the truth by overuse.....hahaha....what a total pill.

"abuse the truth by overuse"
Just about the most stupid thing I've ever read. Which is saying a lot seeing as it has Dave's FACT post as competition.