New Bok center combo

The Jean at 12 and Delande at 13 combo should have been tried by the Stormers, with Dejong moved onto Wing.
Jean has had good games on the wing especially when he was younger and faster, and has had excellent games at inside center. 
However he is not a great off loader in the tackle, and in this area Delande is better than Jean. 
He often seemed like he would be a better 13 because he is fast and overall his distibution game is not the best. Munster shifted him from inside centre to outside centre.  JDV just seems to have never clicked in the position.
Jan Serfontein should sit on the bench and JJ will will be in the stands.

 If Jean and Allende are the centers wing options are Habana, Hendricks, Movovo JJ and Jordaan. 
Bok backline:Reinach, Pollard, Habana, Jean, Allende, Hendricks and Willie. JJ may well though be the answer on the wing but the fact he hasnt played there recently will count against him and ditto Jordaan.Reserves, Hogard, Lambie and Serfontein
Play this backline and reserves against the Argies.

I doubt Reinach will play. It's a pity about JP, he is beginning to settle at 13. I'd play Pollard off the bench. The Jean/ de Allende combination is fine. The Oom was probably right about the big chap, but it will have to be confirmed in the tests.  

 Nice bone there Moz! Respect : -)

I'm just a soft touch DB

 I must agree about Reinach - he is definitely better than Pienaar and Hougaard.   Hougaard looked well on the latest game - but he was on the wing - not at scrummie - so that is where Saffex lost it. 
 

Blow me down - Moz and Clever on the same page, in two different threads
Hope for humanity

Surely Israel and Hamas can work it out now !!

 Is there any good reasoning as to why Jean De Villiers should be in the starting 15 in the RC? Apart from the captaincy role there really isn't. De Villiers form in this years super 15 is questionable, he hasn't played in weeks so it will take quite some time to find his form again. Serfontein is the real contender and has the potential to be even better than De Villiers in his prime , he has proved to have positioned himself well at inside centre with strength and speed whereas De Villiers doesn't have much of that anymore. 

 The best centre combination for the boks would be Serfontein at 12 and De Allende at 13 in my view.

 oimatey
Do not expect miracles - the Detente will not last for very long - that I can promise you.   
I am increasingly worried about the Middle East and North African situation.  There are just too  many radicals on all sides to be comfortable with.   The Mislum Radicals from all over Russia, Western Europe and Central Asis are joining up in some really toxic combinations - fighting in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria. Iraq. Somalia. Libya. Mali and Nigeria  and then you have the internal radicals in most Muslim countries as well.
I have some very good Muslim friends and they are not radical at all - basically like most other middle of the road people.  The problem is that in the Middle East and North Africa you found the crude dictators - really a nasty bunch - but they were less harmful than the Jihadists who seems to be getting the upper hand.   It started in Iran and later on Afghanistan and spread to Chesnia and Somalia.   and now the rash is all over the place.
The biggest mistake America ever made was to invade Iraq.  A French friend of mine said once that the Americans do not understand how to deal with the Muslims - France had a history of over a 1000 years on that topic and they know when to get out of trouble with that crowd.   Saddam Hussein was less of a problem than the present crowd is.  
Lets face facts - democracy is not  concept acceptable to the Muslims - it is foreign to their culture - which always centered around the regal and dictatorship scenario - democarcy does not flourish anywhere and will not flourish in Muslim countries.   Even when elections are held - they are manipulated like it is unbelievable - so why the facade? 
The Russians has as much to lose as the Western Countries - so they should form a united front against the Jihadists - Putin is probably right about that one.   On the other hand - Israil should recognize the Palestine and get out of the West Bank - trying to reach an accommodation with the more moderate Muslim countries.  Jewish extremism is not helpful either - they are just playing into the hands of the Jihadists at present.        
Now I am indulging in the dark side of politics.  So back to Mozart.  he is beyond doubt a gentleman and a very great one at that.  I love to be on the other side of arguments with him - it makes for interesting discussion points.  But unlike the seeming differences - there is the question of what is best for our rugby and even cricket.  Although we seem to be on different angles in the case of some players - there are more than enough other players wehere we are in agreement.  
Disagree on Morne Steyn, Francois Steyn, Willem Alberts, Victir Matfield, Cobus Reinach and to a lesser degree in JP Pietersen - in whose case I have reservations about his defense at 13.
For the rest we are basically on the same side with very little differences as to player selections.   6 Differences out of 28 is not as bad as it normally sounds on this site.     
     

 
Faggot ... a gentleman??

Pompous ass is better suited me thinks.

An aged one at that!!

"Me thinks" ....wehe....stick to your usual grunts Baldy, it disguises your ignorance a little better .

 
Aaaaaaaah .... having a good day then are we??

Aware of your surroundings ... right?

I'm impressed, cause usually you'd leave a blank post for us to look at, hey old timer?

Nice try Balls Up....or should that be Bald up?  

 
Growing old really sucks.

Where are the days when Mozart would have struck me with a good solid combination of lefts and rights. Now he can hardly lift his hands up to protect himself.

So frail. Doddering old man.

Look at this pathetic comeback of his. 

Well I guess if that's the best you can do then so be it.

Tell you what ... let's forgive and forget.

It no longer feels right battering you from pillar to post.

What you say??

Friends??

What's wrong Baldy, tired of being beaten up....waving the white flag? Nah, in your case what would be the point of a rapprochement. I mean all you have to contribute is uncouth animosity, if we eliminate that there would be no reason to have these cosy chats....methinks.

 DA
In a way I agree with you.  Take the example of Johann Sadie - who found playing at center for the Bulls a dead end.  The Buklls are in fact the grabeyard of centers  and a lot of other players as well.   Take for example also Jacques Potgieter as well. Engelbrecht would eb well-advised to go to the Cheetahs - where he will get better backline coaching.   However, that may not help - Engelbrecht is not the type of player that reads games well and take decisions - his prime attacking objective is to run straight at the first defender and not try and get through gaps between defenders.  That never works and never will work.   He is by all accounts not a clever player - rather robotic to be precise.
Where I disagree with you is about Francois Steyn.  He was the worst performing center in Super 15 this year.  The difference between Steyn and Engelbrecht is that the latter is more speedy.  Steyn has a huge reputation - but since his return from France he has never lived up to that reputation.  Analyzing his center performances this year it is indeed shocking to find that - 
*  he never once made a line break this year (the famous Crusaders one was when he played at flyhalf);*   he had one try assist from a cross kick - he never once vreated space foir other players to ebnhance attacking play;*  the number of defenders beaten was in fact less than any other no 12 center; *  all other 12's in the competition scored tries - Steyn never did score even once; and*   he had the worse defensive record of any 12 in the competition.
The above was not much different when he played in 2012 and 2013 for the Springboks and the Sharks.   Maybe it is because of his dodgy knee - but Steyn is not the player he used to be and he is central to destruction of attacking backline play.   I would rather that they pick Jordaan at 12 than Francois Steyn - the latter just does not produce the good anymore.         
     

 FA
Like virtually everyone else I used to be a great Steyn admirer.   However, he was so poor as center in the five tests he played in in 2012 that I started to look at him more critically - maybe too critically.   However, I do not rate him anymore.   Let take an example of the type of things Steyn does nowadays.   Ten meters from the Stormers 22 and the Sharks are on the attack.  Steyn gets the ball - instead of passing it - he kicks it straight into the hands of the opposing full back and the resultant maul led to a Stormers penalty.  The end result - the Sharks ends up 17 ,eter inside their own 22 - that is just not done.
The same thing happened in the game between the Sharks and the Brumvies last year and that is when Plumtree demoted him to the bench.  hen attacking you just do not kick balls away - you keep it in hand.  That is the type of play indicating extremely poor reading of the game.   There is a difference though - there is no problem with a strategic kick in such circumstances but to kick it straiight into a hand of a defender is not clever.  
I think that White has a very soft spot for Steyn - probably dating back to the 2007 WC.   If tht was not the case and Steyn was assessed purely on performance grounds - it is very likely that he would not have lasted at center or at flyhalf.   It see,s to be a two-way street and came through again on Saturday.  White came from his cubicle on Saturday - walked along where the bench players were seated and shook the hand of each player - same with Steyn.  However, Steyn got up after the handshake and gave White a hug.
Be it as it may - White allows him not to train with the team on Mondays and Tuesdays because of his knee problem - I do not think that helps in backline performances in games at all.   Meyer is unlikely to insist on training all the time - and that could be one of the problems.  that had an impact on the fiasco you refer to.  
Be it as it may - for me there are just too many negatives in Steyn's presemt performances -  they are just not good enough to overcome the  fiasco you mentioned.
I think the future of the center combinations will entail the younger players - players like Serfontein, De Allende, Estarhuizen, Jordaan, Jesse Kriel etc.   I was watching the Under 18 Craven Week and there was a player from my erstwhile home town - by the name of TJ Jackson.   The game was between the SWD and WP and he was in the SWD team. WP allways have had strong under 18 centers - what Jackson showed is what an ideal center should be made of - scoring three tries himself - made the crucial breaks that let to scoring of two more tries and he kicked 5 conversions and two penalties as well.   What a star performance - if he keeps that up this youngster will in five years time be the top center in SA.
In the interim Meyer would insist on  De Villiers - but         

 Jean at 103 kg, is deceptively fast, great vision and has the ability to cut a line and off load etc He is still possibly the top 12 in world rugby. Who is better is the real question.
Jean is now well rested. All he needs is a few warm up games and he will be ready.Meyer will wisely keep him on till the younger brigade show on the field of play rather than in the overheated imaginations of certain oaks that there is a better 12 in South Africa.The oaks are also undervaluing how well JP has gone at 13  - although of course I hear he will be in Japan during the RC?  JP wants to play 13. 
Meyer needs someone to look afer Savea. Allende may just be the man. So wing is an option for Damian.
Meyer must also insist that JJ moves back to the wing where he has a future - barring quotas - is this the reason for retaining him at 13?

Beeno
When it comes to backline play the age old issue of ball sense comes into the pictuure. This allows for reading of the game and creating of spoace for other players to utilize as well as top class ball skills.  To these issues must be added speed sufficiency and good defense.
When evaluating backline players - you have to evaluate not only the physical component - but also these abilities.
Jean de Villiers   
I think that De Villiers has all the qualities of a ball sense player and  should remain at 13 until the WC.  He has not done much in the Stormers team this year - but he always seems to come good playing for the Springboks.
He ahs the physical ability to make line breaks and also the ability to create space for others.   I cannot find a single reason for him not to be retained in the Springbok team.
Jan Serfontein
This youngster shows signs of ability t read the game - but his associated skill set needs to be further developed.   He does make line breaks - but too often still dies with the ball.   Problem is he is playing for a franchise well-known for killing of natural abilities of players and should really get to a franchise where he would be ablle to develop further as a center.    For the moment he is too often used as a "crashballer" - a function that negates his natural talent/
To my mind he is the natural back up and successor for Jean de Villiers - but he should develop further and he will not in his present franchise environment.
Francois Steyn
Steyn is a player totally devoid of ball sense.    As a center he never made one line break in the Super 15 this year - whilst also never creating space for other players to operate in.   He is a crashballer and nothing else.
The main provlem is that Steyn rubns straight at the first defender and is tackled with relative ease.  He is reputedly a good off-loader of balls - but it is a rarity  seldom noticeable in games.
He has the physical ability to be a crashballer - but unnfortunately lack the pace to be anything else.  His defense is questionable perhaps due to his knee problem.   Bringing him into the Springbok  team will kill the backline as an attacking unit.   A player with a great reputation - but it wopuld be avisable to forget him as a future center option.
JP Pietersen
One has to look at Pietersen's playing background before considering to play at center.  In the first instance since 2007 Pietersen was always a wing.  He always was rather on the slow side spedwise - but is a verys trong ball carrier and he found it easy to break tackles and continue movements.
In 2012 the Sharks for three months tried him out as a 13 - and then moved him back to wing - bringing in the then 2 year old Jordaan as their 13.   The reason was two-fold - Pietersen did not play a space creating game and he has problems in passing of balls - his  strong carries too often came to a dead stop as a result.  Another issue relates to his defense - which was not always iof an acceptable level in the center position.   The same problems were noted when he played as a center in the recent tests.   The one try he scored was scored when he was in the normal wing position and entail a very strong ball carry.
Pietersen always was a world class wing - despite the fact that he never was the speediest wing around.  He still has the same slight speed deficiency and the idea to use that as an excuse to move him to center is not really of any value.
Sincxe Pietersen is not really a natural center - he should at best be a standin center when other players are injured.
Paul Jordaan 
Jordaan is probably the nest ball sense center we have in the team.  He ahs been used in both the 12 and 13 position and showed class in both positions.  In essence he is not often used to ebst advantage - since he had a disadvantage in playing outside Franciis Steyn - who seems to think it is a deadly sin to pass balls to players outside of him,.
Although he is physically smaller than the other players - he has the best defense recrd in Super 15 and as one of the fastest centers in SA is akways very difficult to contend with.  He has an amazing record in scoring of tries by the Sharks - either by himself or by other players  because of his rugby intelligence and ability to create space and off-load balls extremely well.  
Personally I think Jordaan is probably one of the most under-rated centers in SA and whilst he is still very young - he will feature more and more as a top center that could play either at 12 or 13 for SA.
Damian de Allende
This guy is really a talented rugby player - one of the real ball sense players in any backline.  The way he is able to break lines, to create space and make very effective off-loads is the stuff legends are made of.
Physically he is very bg and strong.  There seems to eb the impression that he does not have sufficient speed - but that is a vague impression as well.  He is a long-striding runner and is faster than the image created by some in public.  
Even though he is still very young and will learn a lot from further experience - he is by far at present the best prospect to play at 13.   
The younger crowd
Here we have a problem as well - the best prospects are Andre Esterhuizen - but eh should have been in the Free State to drill the crashballing tendencies out of him.  A physsical giant that will be a factor in future.  The other two players with massive potential is Jesse Kriel and William Small-Smith.  Both has massive potential  - but their development could be impeded by their Bulls contract.  In another three years time watch out for JT Jackson as well - he is going to make waves in future - the best natural center from the present youngsters.
Summary
So my present feeling about centers is a combination of Jean de Villiers and Serfontein at 12 and De Allende and Jordaan at 13.   If for some reason neither De Villiers ior Serfontein is available at 12 - Jordaan would not fail in that position as well.