Springbok centre Andre Esterhuizen, who surprised many on Saturday by taking the field at flanker off the replacements bench against the Barbarians, was excited about his new hybrid role in the national team, and said he looked forward to seeing how it pans out in future.
The Boks lifted the Qatar Airways Cup after beating the BaaBaas by 54-7 at the DHL Stadium in a wet and windy Cape Town.
The powerful runner and ball carrier is renowned for his bursts of pace in the midfield and forcing his way over the advantage line, and while packing down on the side of the scrum in the team’s opening game of the season may have caught many off-guard, Esterhuizen said discussions about doubling up as a forward and a back have been in the pipeline for a while.
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus likened Esterhuizen’s ability to play as a centre and flanker to that of former Blitzbok star Kwagga Smith, who is able to cover all three positions in the loose trio and play on the wing – a skill many other players in the team possess by covering a few different positions, and the coach was equally excited about the prospects for the Bok enforcer.
“It was a good experience,” Esterhuizen said about the switch from centre to flanker. “I obviously trained there this week and enjoyed it, and I believe it is a good attribute for the future.”
Commenting on how the move came about, Esterhuizen said: “Rassie obviously spoke to me about it, and we came to an agreement. I said I’d like to try it because it offers so many more options. I’ve been waiting for this conversation to come up for some time because it has been raised in the past.
“As one gets older, you learn how you can slot into different positions, and it helps to get into the team more consistently. One needs to learn to adapt as a player, so I’m looking forward to how it can work out.”
Asked if he had any reservations about the bold move, Esterhuizen said he would not have done it if he weren’t willing.
“I’m definitely keen to learn and to slot into a bit of a hybrid role that can cover the forwards and backs,” he said.
“I think it will help me as a player personally, and it will help the team as well, so hopefully we will see more of that in the future.”
Esterhuizen was pleased with the team’s effort in their first match of the international season, even though it wasn’t an official Test match, and said: “It doesn’t matter who you face, it’s about learning from every game. If you win or lose by 50 points, there’s always something you can work on and do better. I know the score was high, but it was still a physical, hard, and intense match.
“The conditions were obviously not the best, but that’s the thing about Test rugby, you need to be able to play in any weather, and I think the boys did well to adapt and play the conditions right.”
The Springboks travelled to Johannesburg on Sunday and will begin their preparations for their opening Castle Lager Incoming Series match against Italy at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday at 17:10 (SA Time), in Johannesburg on Monday.