Jean de Villiers the Ultimate 12 this year again!

If the young guys can't displace 32 year old Jean based on performance they certainly shouldn't do so based on age. O Driscoll is two years older and still a compelling player.

The fact is Jean is still our best 12 by a country mile.

Disagree Moz, Serfontein is better than Jean.........its not even close. Jean at best has been solid this year. Serfontein grows each game

 The selection which bugs me most is Vermaak! He's been the worst performing Scrum half in the whole of Super 15 and is taking Hougaards rightful spot! Reinach should be in the squad and I think he will be in the second training camp with his performance against the Stormers, he was a joy to watch!

 Vermaak, to his credit had a great game yesterday - he played like we know he can. But leading up to the squad selection, he was poor and did not deserve a spot.

Reinach, v/Zyl and Groom are all better options at this stage

I believe Meyer did restore some optimism for selecting the young talented centres, however what are the realistic chances of them getting a reasonable amount of playing time? The rational option of advice i'd give Meyer is to experiment the centre combinations with the 4 that is selected to determine which is more effective. The De Jongh try against the sharks which was well assisted by De Villiers, that move from De Villiers in that exact passage of play showed the fundamental objective of what a inside centre should do, being creative around other players. That aspect De Villiers has been missing last year, but is now currently doing the right thing which is rare. On a much larger scale the centres such as Ebersohn and Serfontein have more potential than De Villiers. Looking at the individual stats and making an assertion based on that isn't really gonna give you a better understanding as to who is unique in their own way. Why not look at the actual performances to determine who is more beneficial and what is needed to improve the team.

The old warhorse showed he still has what it takes...his off-load that led to Stormers try showed up whats lacking in Saffa backline play.

And yes, he is not over the hill...O'Driscoll is 2 years older and far from spent and AB, Frank Bunce one of the greatest centres was 35 in 1995 side.Bokke need experienced mentors in their side.

 Agredd Seb. Jean had a very good game on saturday. Seems the 12 jersey race for the boks is on. Season wise Ebersohn still has the best season of the three. Jean had one good game now. Serfontein had a good game for the bulls as well. so a few weeks left let's wait and see what happens.

Jean is still good!  A team (even one that plays one dimention rugby ala Meyer) needs a balaning between experience and youth.  But sometimes this Meyer bloke has me wondering.. Surely if Brussow played for the Bulls he would be in the team - like Ritchie for the ABs.

KF... balancing between experience and youth...exactly and also a balancing between aggressive speculative,creative play AND conservative steady play...balance guys,balance, not one or the other. Old Crusader style and AB style and Oz under Eales and Greegan.

Such a simple statement but one-eyed Saffa's cannot understand...cannot read between the lines and can only see in black or white (no pun intended). Also cannot take constructive criticism...always puffed up...Mr Knowalls and I'm sometimes just as guilty...lol.