CENTERS
1 - Matt Giteau (Toulon): no doubt, hands down, the best center in the league this year. Just makes stuff happen, all the time. A little hole to hop into, the right no-look pass to a teammate, changing direction judiciously and in a perfectly calculated way for his team's attack...the guy even excels when he takes on as his club's fly-half. Very witty, Rugby clever, crafty, and all that experience...
There are many very good centers in France atm, but he's above them all.
2 - Rémi Lamerat (Castres): at 24yo, this incredibly physically dense youngster (1m83, 105kg) has really exploded this year. We knew he was good last year, but this year is his year. Tackled by 5 Leinstermen and still going, thighs the size of my torso, strong upper body too, huge heart, big tackler and good on defense who can contest in rucks too (seen him snatch balls away from the opposition), comfortable throwing accurate chisteras (no-look, cradled) offloads. Pure power and dynamism along with very good technical command already. Has earned him his trip to Australia, although that may not be a blessing !! (My personal favorite player for the year)
3 - Matthieu Bastareaud (Toulon): a third rower who has the pace to play as a back. Two in one. Sits massive flankers down like they were skinny little scrumhalves and an accurate/consistent defender overall, contests in rucks like we're never sure from our TV angle if it's Steffon Armittage or him (not that brilliantly though), good pace, and will puncture holes way more often than not. Can start and be effective a whole match, or used as a powerful punch off the bench, Bastareaud at 25yo is finally starting to really use the enormous potential his frame offers.
Criticism: gets emotional and that can hinder his decisions (like a drop goal "attempt" out of nowhere...) and tends to kill plays because his vision just isn't where it should be and settles for a little pile on the ground in stead of letting the ball live.
4 - Félix Le Bourhis (Bordeaux): he's a center, that's right, a CENTER. Just in case Saint-André roams around these pages...apparently the most consistent player for his club, the UBB, and looking at the sort of attacking they've got down there, he must be good. I've watched Bordeaux a bit but don't know much about him. A good passer from what I understand, and a player who's very attack-oriented.
5 - Joe Rockoko (Bayonne): at 31yo, the Fijian born ex-All-Black is a lot more than just a shadow of his former self who came to France for a few easy bucks. He's an essential part of Bayonne's game, has scored 9 tries this season for an average of 78 minutes per game.
Mentions to:
Gaël Fickou (
Toulouse),
René Ranger (
Montpellier),
Henry Chavancy (Racing),
Benson Stanley (Clermont),
Arnaud Mignardi (Brive).
Obvious remarks: Fofana doesn't appear here, neither in the Top 5 nor even in the mentions. Fair ? I don't think so. And Florian Fritz, the other regular starter at midfield for France, isn't within sight in this assessment either...
I mourn Yann David's out of form season too. Liked that guy a lot. And Rougerie really should be at least mentioned here.
in Paris, he did none of that, and this is "Flops of the year in the Top 14" and he was a monumental flop, regardless of whether a psychological or physical reason.
