Inside centre was once the domain of the big man, the back rower who had lucked his way into the backs at an early age and never looked back. He was always less of a link man and more of a walking brick to be hurled mercilessly at the opposition Fly-half. In recent years the position has taken somewhat of a turn, Farrell and Ford for England particularly changing the dynamic between 1^st and 2^nd receiver. The age of the two distributors began with them, and ironically, looks to be ending with them. 

So who is leading this bulldozering return? Well like a great deal of other things in the world of rugby at the moment its South Africa. Whilst the obvious front runner in this trend is the man who plays in Munster red in Damian de Allende, the real revolution is happening this side of the Irish Sea. In west London a somewhat disgraced former springbok is leading the charge in the inside centre renaissance. For all the great players who have emerged in the last three years at Harlequins, André Esterhuizen might just be the best of them. It has taken consecutive man of the match performances against Saints and Gloucester for the premiership viewers to take proper notice, but now he has English rugby’s full attention. 

To describe Harlequins first phase attack as a little one note would be underselling it, much like all roads and Rome, all set pieces lead to André. If the premiership kept a readily available metres after contact statistic Esterhuizen would be not only leading it, but he would likely have double his closest competitor. Put simply Esterhuizen is at the moment what the prime versions of Lomu, Vunipola and Tuilagi were, utterly impossible to tackle one on one. Teams now are regularly assigning the back lineout marker, alongside the standard ten/twelve two man tackle. This takes away what it is normally a back-rower a shot at the breakdown, not only does this stop a risk of turnover it ensures the ball is recycled quickly to allow Smith the use of his near uniquely dangerous outside backs to their best effect. One look at the first half try at Gloucester shows just how potent this combination can be. 

We know all this though, a big centre gets go forward and helps to expose the edges of a defense. So what makes it an inside centre renaissance, why are the big strong carrying twelves getting the looks they haven’t gotten over the last few years. You need only look at Mark Atkinson’s use of the boot, Esterhuizen world class ability over the ball at breakdown time and De Allende’s sublime handling. We are moving into an era, fuelled by the ever professionalising game, where elite size no longer means a lack of elite skill. A change in mentality around development and selection has swept through rugby in the last five to ten years. Size is no longer enough to make a decent player and as a result the centres coming through now with elite size, also have the skills to accompany it. 

It is this stigma against the big man as an unskilled luddite that is the key to this revolution in the midfield. The Ford Farrell axis era emerged from a concern about beating more complete defences than a binary blitz and drift, and getting as many playmakers on the field at the time. Big carrying twelves like Brad Barritt at the time could not fulfil those roles and so they were sidelined, the thinking being that a big twelve did not have the skills to provide more than one option. Now this mentality has begun to change it will only gain momentum. Esterhuizen is the figurehead right now but there are a number of others coming through in a big way in the sport. A South African counterpart making his money like so many in the North of England, Janse Van Rensburg at Sale is running damaging lines that are slowly establishing him as a starting twelve. He too offers work at the breakdown and defensive awareness that make him more valuable than your average brick. Atkinson is earning plaudits in a Gloucester team that has quietly become top four worthy for his carrying but also for his attacking kicking game. De Allende of course is leading the international charge acting as the embodiment of their physical play. The emergence of Marcus Smith may just force England’s selection hand in future putting a big body in the midfield to give him a reliable outlet under pressure as he has at Harlequins. 

Will it last? Is it a trend like always kicking for the corner like Exeter in their double champion years or Saracens anti-caterpillar techniques? Hopefully it will last. From the perspective of a fan and player watching André Esterhuizen run over players with all the effectiveness of an Afrikaans speaking lorry is reminiscent of why I began watching and then playing rugby in the first place. Rugby  is a uniquely physical sport and the big inside centre is the ultimate embodiment of this physicality. I for one hope it continues, watching André run over first phase defenders at the Stoop has brought more joy than Marcus’s goose-stepping or the ageless play of Danny Care. De Allende doing similarly in the world theatre is helping to open the door for future bulldozers with pianist’s hands and a violence in carrying that will make people fall in love with the game all over again.