Rugby 365 chooses the centres....

12 Frans Steyn:
He was devastating at the World Cup last year and proved that this is his best position, he does not miss tackles and is a direct and destructive runner so it would seem a wasted if he is not used in the No.12 jersey.

13 Jean de Villiers:
He is a strong captaincy candidate and although he has played most of his career at inside centre his experience should mean that he is able to adapt well. He has shown this season that he still has penty of pace and his organisational skills will be just as valuable one position out as well.

Bench:

21 Juan de Jongh:
He has some Test experience and his committed approach could see him make an impact late in the game, while the fact that he covers both centres also counts in his favour

Pretty much right on I'd say. Of course with Fransie unavailable we need a different solution for England. That will in all likelyhood be de Jongh at 13, Jean at 12. 365 points out that Olivier is another likely bench exponent and that Whitehead/Taute don't have the physical maturity for the job. Accurate I suppose, but haven't we tried this Olivier thing once too often? Does a guy who has one try in some 35 tests and had a hand in all three Lions tries in the 3rd test......really need to prove again, he simply can't play test rugby?

did you hear about Olivier's nasty collision?......well, he made a snappy U Turn and collided with the snail following him....

On a more serious note we're in a famine when it comes to quality centres, if the incumbents get injured we'd be up a creek. Quality centres are like hen's teeth at the moment who knows they might even have to turn to the experimental flopper, JP.....#^^#^#&%*!!

Mozart

 I really have a problem with De Jong - he is far too light to make any impression on attack.   Although speedy - he too often gets tackled back and loses possession.   I think that we have to start looking wider as an alternate to Steyn and De Villiers in the event of injury.   My personal preference in the medium term would be Jordaan - but it is very early days for him.

Mike I think de Jongh trumps Taute  and Jordaan head to head. Unlike Taute he can change direction at pace and Jordaan is too inexperienced, although very promissing.Olivier is a proven test failure.

So while I take your point, I think he is the best option. And he is not so weak. He brought Rocky Elsom down like a sack of potatoes.

 Moz iscorrect.  So is Denny.  We do not have a bag full of quality centres at the moment.  If one has to look deeper then de Jongh is the better choice of the youngsters.  Olivier - although not bad at Super level tends to freeze in the Bok side.  He is also not that fast and tends to run into and not around defenders.  Sadie has not yet lived up to the hype.  JJ is not a centre as is the case with JP.  Taute would be better suited at 15 where he plays better than at centre.  First prise would be Steyn and de Villiers - but if that is not going to happen then de Villiers and de Jongh - at least they know each other well so the communication will be good.

Lunatic your last comment pretty much sums up everything I think....Dude, seriously, have you hacked my brain?

Just shows how naive some of you are regarding our centres, telling us the cupboard is empty - what complete rubbish.

At outside centre we have current options in: Taute, JP, JJ.Engelbrecht, Jordaan, Sadie, Frans Steyn, de Jongh and Ebersohn and future options in Pat Howard, Dries Swanepoel, JP du Plessis, Mjekevu, Tyler Fisher and Small-Smith.

At inside centre we have current options in: Frans, Jean, Whitehead, Olivier, Stefan Watermeyer and Frans Venter and future options in Jan Serfontien and Kobus van Wyk

Dave as usual you miss the point and compound the error by insulting those who get the point. This is not about some unspecified point in the future....it's about a few weeks from now. Your list is irrelevant.

Dave as usual you miss the point and compound the error by insulting those who get the point. This is not about some unspecified point in the future....it's about a few weeks from now. You are irrelevant.

Fixed

 Its not irrelevant at all, it mentions the now and future......with the now we have Taute, JP, JJ or Jordaan as options at 13 and Jean, Frans or Whitehead at 12......certainly works for me and certainly works for Meyer as he has the majority of those players in his squad

I support SAFFEX to an extend on this one.   There are some promising youngsters coming through - and especially Jordaan is going to be the real center of the future.    The others are also possible - but JP is a definite no-no.   Taute would be better at 15 - his best position thus far in rugby.   JJ is in the same category - not a center - but a wing with speed problems and no definite for the future.

Whitehead is another "Meisiekind"  - good at Super 15 and bad on international level.    Now what about Frans - want to get married so he missed the test series.   De Villiers got married and his wife and him missed out on their honeymoon - because he had to play Super 15 rugby.   Is Francois a "prima donna"?

The problem the posters have in this case - with "meisiekind and the Prima Donna out of the picture - what is Meyer going to do within the next three weeks - he has a very short space of time available to pick centers and the cupboard is very near to empty.