Building the perfect rugby player: Inside Centre
Having left the half-backs behind with our look at the fly-half position, we now turn our attentions to the midfield proper, with an examination of the roles and responsibilities that are required at inside centre.
There is scope for a number of different playstyles at the position, which make locking down the key attributes at 12 challenging, though there are some that are absolutes and that any player playing the position must have if they want to thrive in the role.
As ever, we have identified five of those key attributes below and highlighted the players who currently best exhibit those qualities on the pitch.
One of the primary abilities an inside centre needs to bring is success at the gain-line as a ball-carrier. It doesn’t have to be by running through and over defenders, although with space often limited at the position by aggressive defences, there needs to be an element of being able to win those collisions when necessary.
Few players are as competent ball-carriers as New Zealand’s Ngani Laumape, with the centre having dazzled in Super Rugby prior to his international debut in 2017. A wealth of midfield options means that Laumape is not always a regular for the All Blacks, though his ball-carrying skills are as adept as anyone that New Zealand can call upon, with the Hurricane able to evade contact as well as he can find it.
Linked very much to that ability to be a ball-carrier, physicality is also key for any inside centre, with the aforementioned lack of space and requirement to take contact sometimes unavoidable. That power is not only generated through size, but also through a player’s speed and their footwork prior to and during contact.
Not many can match the physicality that Australia’s Samu Kerevi is able to bring to bear and plenty of would-be tacklers have been left red-faced in their attempts to bring him down. Whether at 12 or 13, Kerevi is a consistent source of gain-line success, most of which leave a broken tackle or two in his wake. An honourable mention, too, for the defensive physicality that former England centre Brad Barritt frequently puts on display.
As with the scrum-half and fly-half positions, decision-making is another key attribute for inside centres. Along with the two half-back positions, inside centres are responsible for finding and creating space in attack, rather than eating it up themselves, and making the right decisions at the right time on the pitch allows them to do this.
New Zealand’s Anton Lienert-Brown ticks that box emphatically, with the rounded attacking skill set to hurt teams as a ball-carrier or as a distributor, and the game understanding to know when each is required. Furthermore, his defensive decision-making is also very impressive and the All Black midfield and back line will not regularly find themselves outnumbered or out of position because of the Chief’s decisions on that side of the ball.
As mentioned earlier with the premium on space at the position, inside centres are often required to work in more congested parts of the field and as such, acceleration plays a key role in their success. In these areas, the ability to quickly move through the gears is much more important than what they can achieve in the top gear and can be the difference between finding a chink in the armour of a well-drilled defensive unit or not.
In South Africa’s Damian de Allende, you have a premium example of this ‘shiftyness’ and it proved vital to the Springboks at the recent Rugby World Cup. He is able to find swiftly closing holes in defensive lines thanks to his acceleration and his footwork, and the puncturing of a defence that he is able to achieve sucks in more defenders and creates space and opportunities for other players in subsequent phases.
Lastly, we come to ball-handling. As it is with any position on the pitch, it’s important for an inside centre to be able to competently move the ball and find players in more opportune positions than themselves. Some teams will sacrifice this for a pure ball-carrier at the position, but plenty of others go completely the other way and deploy dual playmakers at the 10 and 12 positions.
The Swiss Army Knife of the Australian back line, Kurtley Beale brings this skill set to every position he plays, but arguably none as successfully so as he does when playing inside centre. The accuracy of his passing and offloading are exemplary, and complement his ability to carry the ball, too, frequently forcing teams to pick their poison when facing the Wallaby.
Ball-carrying – Ngani Laumape
Physicality – Samu Kerevi
Decision-making – Anton Lienert-Brown
Acceleration – Damian de Allende
Ball-handling – Kurtley Beale
Comments on RugbyPass
Irish Rugby CEO be texting Andy Farrell “Andy, i found our next Kiwi Irishman”
4 Go to commentsI certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
4 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to commentsSimple reason for wanting him back. Robertson wants him as captain. Otherwise he wouldn’t be bothering chasing him. Not enough reason to come back just to mentor.
10 Go to commentsI had not considered this topic like this at all, brilliant read. I had been looking at his record at the Waratahs and thought it odd the Crusaders appointed him, then couple that with all that experience and talent departing and boom. They’ve got some great talent developing though, and in all honesty I don’t think anyone would be over confident taking them on in a playoff match, no matter how poor the first half of their season was. I think they can pull a game out of their ass when it counts.
2 Go to commentsNot a bad list but not Porecki and not Donaldson. Not because they are Tahs, or Ex Tahs, they are just not good enough. Edmed should be ahead. Far more potential. Wilson should be 8 and Valentini 6. Wilson needs to be told by his father and his coach, stop bloody running in to brick wall defence. You’re not playing under the genius Thorn any more. He’s a fantastic angle runner. The young new 8 from the Brumbies looks really good too. The Lonegrans are just too small for international rugby as is Paisami, as is Hamish Stewart at 12. Both great at Super Rugby level. Stewart could have been a great 10 if not for Brad Thorn. Uru should be there and so should Tupou. Tupou just needs good Australian coaching which he hasn’t been getting. I don’t think Schmidt will excite him.
3 Go to commentsIf he wants to come back then he should. He will be a major asset to the younger locks and could easily be played as an impact player off the bench coming on in the last 30. He is fit, strong and capable and has all the experience to make up for any loss in physical prowess. He could also be brought back with a view to coaching within the structures one day. Duane Vermeulen played until he was 37 or 38. He is now a roaming coach within the South African coaching structures. He was valuable in the last world cup and has been a major influence on Jasper Wiese and other young players which has helped and accelerated their development and growth. Whitelock could do the exact same thing for NZ
10 Go to commentsBrett Excellent words… finally someone (other than DC) has noted that Hanigan is very hard and very good at doing what Backrow should do… his performance via the Drua sauna was quite daunting for those on the other side… very high tackle count… carries with good end result… constant threat to make a good 20-25 meters with those long legs… providing his mass effectively to crunching the Drua pack… Finally he is returning to quality form… way to much injury time over the last 2 years… smart-strong-competent in his skills… caught every lineout throw aimed at him and delivered clean pass to whoever was down below… and he worked hard for the whole 80 minutes… Ned has to be in the top 5 for backrow honors… He knows what is required as he has been there before…
20 Go to commentsI think Sam Whitelock should not touch a return with a bargepole. He went out on a high, playing in the RWC Final. He would be coming back into a team that will be weaker than last years, and might even be struggling to win games, especially against the Boks. Stay in France, enjoy another year with Pau, playing alongside his brother.
10 Go to comments