This is where one has to be careful because we have duds on this site who are made enough to constantly punt Steyn - so we will have to see how he measures up against the other players.
At this stage my merit list is the following:-
1 De Allende
2 Vorster
3. Serfontein
4. Mapoe
5. Venter
6. Sadie
7. Esterhuizen
8. Burger Odendaal
9. De Jongh
10. Pietersen
11. Steyn
The above list is made up with due regard to actual performances of players and the contributions they made to their respective teams.
Steyn is by some distance the weakest inside center playing rugby in Super 15 in all the squads of SA Franchises. He made less line breaks and beat less defenders in all the games he played in then a player like De Allende made in one game. He has in some games showed a deficiency in tackles - but is still a better defender than Steyn.
Pietersen is not a center - but rather a wing. However, Pietersen has a serious speed deficiency, which reduces his usefulness drastically and impact also on his ability to defend.
De Jongh loves ball possession losses - he did it only four times today.
If De Villiers gets matchfit and makes it into the squad - I would pick one of the first three at 13. If not - I would look at De Allende at 12 and either Vorster at 13.
