Lions 2013 Centres - Where Are They Now?
The sixth in a seven-part series in the run up to this summer’s selection, taking a look at the 2013 incumbents and their chances of being selected again.
Part 1: Props
Part 2: Hookers
Part 3: Locks
Part 4: Back row
Part 5: Half Backs
JAMIE ROBERTS
2013 tour: ‘Gatlandball’ is the word used for the Welsh strategy of running fast, hard and straight into contact and offloading when you want to keep the ball alive, rather than relying on complex set plays. If you want to do it well, you needed someone like Jamie Roberts, or at least the Roberts that was around in the early part of the 2010s. Roberts missed the first two tests through injury but was always going to be picked when fit, and scored in the third.
Since then: Like many of the top draw players from that tour, Roberts went to France and back, and the standard to which his Gatlandball is viewed has fallen dramatically. In an attempt to find a 12 who passes the ball, Wales have been picking Scott Williams since the autumn. Results are ‘mixed’. Roberts is currently a mysteriously impactless bench option.
Touring chances: 20%. Spent the six nations looking nothing like the star formerly known as Jamie Roberts, but we are talking about someone who went on his first Lions tour aged 20 and the second one aged 24. There’s usually a couple more when that happens.
BRIAN O’DRISCOLL
2013 tour: On his fourth Lions tour, the Leinster and Ireland legend was presumed to partner Roberts in the centre. He partnered Welsh 13 Jonathan Davies instead, who played so well on that tour that Warren Gatland played Roberts and Davies in the third test, with no centre on the bench. Some people were ‘miffed’, others went as far as ‘peeved’. Keith Wood called the decision ‘catastrophic’ and said Gatland was just picking names randomly out of a bag. In the end it was fine.
Since then: O’Driscoll saved some of his best rugby for last in the 2014 six nations with a second Irish title, followed by a victorious 16th and final season with Leinster. Retired afterwards to focus on winning a world cup knockout game on his xbox.
Touring chances: 0%. If he was still playing some club rugby I could see it happening, but he seems to be happy with the pundit’s chair. Which is curious itself, considering how that involves proximity to Austin Healy.
JONATHAN DAVIES
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2013 tour: Known for running hard and offloading rather than playmaking, Davies is one of those backs. The kind that wears an unnecessary scrum cap, has silly try celebrations, gets picked ahead of your favourite player and then drives through a puddle next to a pedestrian on the way home. I’m guessing. Played himself into being Roberts’ injury replacement with some fine performances midweek before controversially keeping his place.
Since then: Has remained a mainstay in the Welsh backline. Went to play in the top 14 and came back again, like the rest of them, but was part of the Clermont side that made dual Top 14 and European Cup finals in 2015.
Touring chances: 65%. Faces competition with England’s Elliot Daly and Ireland’s Gary Ringrose, but I’d expect his experience and versatility will get him the nod over the Leinster man. Picking him over the new Brian O’Driscoll would also be appropriately dastardly.
MANU TUILAGI
2013 tour: The youngest and most talented of the many Tuilagis to make Leicester their home, Manusamoa was the one young enough to become an England player. In a few short years in the early 2010s he quickly became the best of them too. The 213 Lions’ strength at centre limited him to one test appearance, but still it seemed reasonable to think it was only a matter of time.
Since then: That didn’t happen. Injuries have come thick and fast and Tuilagi has barely had any matches between comebacks and getting his next long term injury. In the turmoil among Leicester’s coaching staff, Tuilagi’s latest season-ending injury coincided with Tigers veteran Cockerill being sacked. It probably wasn’t a coincidence – getting Tulagi fit again has to be a point of interest for more than just him.
Touring chances: 4%. He is out for the season and has been for some time, as well as not being a regular England player for three years. Still, that didn’t stop Matt Stevens from touring last time. Manu Tuilagi, for the record, is better than Matt Stevens. He’s still, remarkably, only 25. Maybe his time will come.
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BRAD BARRITT
2013 tour: Known for being a defensive powerhouse while having the attacking instincts of Gandhi at Glastonbury, Barritt was one of many centre experiments in England’s years under Lancaster. Called up as ‘backline cover’, which is to say, midweek team filler once the tryouts finished, Barritt played two games.
Since then: Can a centre live on defence alone? The answer is, yes, so long as you are not playing Test matches and your club team is the rugby equivalent of the Borg. Barritt’s England career seems to be finished with Farrell moving into the much passed 12 spot successfully, but he continues to be an effective operator for Saracens and has since taken the club captaincy.
Touring chances: 2%. Even if the star power at centre is not what is was four years ago, there is more depth there now, so Barritt shouldn’t really be required. He wasn’t especialy required in 2013 either, but here we are.
BILLY TWELVETREES
2013 tour: Like Barritt, ’36’ as he was known was a sometimes in and sometimes out England centre who played the Brumbies and Rebels in the second half of the tour.
Since then: In 2013 Twelvetrees was an exciting thing – a creative 12 who could attack, defend, kick and pass. It took a couple of years of ups and downs before it was decided that he did not do any of these things particularly well and he mostly created frustration. Another England centre career put to bed by the new version of Owen Farrell, but he still plays for Gloucester.
Touring chances: 1%. Bastion of creativity he may be, but it’s hard to see his services being called upon any more. We probably need him to make the compulsory early 30s move to a mid-table club in France for fans to start talking him up again.
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Comments on RugbyPass
🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
26 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
26 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
26 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
26 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
26 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
11 Go to comments