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'He has got a fantastic left foot on him as well... He is a driven man'
Adriaan Pieter Esterhuizen, more affectionately known as André, or André The Giant, has made a strong case for a starting place in the South African team at the World Cup.
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He has made sporadic appearances for the Springboks since his debut against Wales in that odd Test in Washington in 2018.
Nobody would have blamed him if he had a serious case of the sulks after his omission from the 2019 World Cup squad.
Yet he continued to improve his game and last year Harlequins assistant coach Jerry Flannery paid the ‘Agent of Chaos’ the ultimate compliment: “His distribution, it is basically like having a tighthead lock playing in the No.12 jersey, who can catch and pass as good as anybody else.
“He has got a fantastic left foot on him as well,” he said of the 194 centimetres (six feet, four inches) backline player.
That form was carried into 2023 by a player voted the Premiership Players’ Player of the Year.
In the opening Rugby Championship encounter with Australia, at Loftus Versfeld, the 29-year-old had 17 carries for 56 metres, one clean break, beat five defenders and produced one offload.
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The Boks won comfortably, 43-12.
His performance went up a level in the warm-up match against Los Pumas in Buenos Aires – with 57 metres from just seven carries in a much tighter game – which also saw him produce another sublime offload. It was a 24-13 win for South Africa.
His best outing of the year was against the All Blacks at Twickenham – taking his carrier metres to 60-odd from seven carries, one clean bream, four defenders beaten and another offload.
He had already secured his World Cup spot and now he is challenging Damian de Allende for a starting spot.
Bok coach Jacques Nienaber was stating the obvious when he said Esterhuizen was ‘on form’.
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“He was good in the Australia game, when we started him,” the coach said, adding: “The Argentina away game, which was a very hostile environment and a tough game to win.
“He was also good against the All Blacks.”
Nienaber reiterated a previously stated goal – building as much squad depth as possible.
“We feel it is going to require a squad effort to win the World Cup.
“If we want to defend the title, it will require a squad of 33 that are all in-form, had good game minutes under their belt and pushed each other.
“There must be good, controlled competition during the week and the guys must help each other.
“With him [Esterhuizen] and Damian [de Allende] – with Damian’s performance last week [a 52-16 rout of Wales in Cardiff] was as high a standard.
“They are pushing each other really hard.”
Nienaber said Esterhuizen is not unfamiliar to the Bok coaching staff – having coached him at the south African Under-20 team at the Junior World Cup in New Zealand in 2014.
“He is a quality player,” the coach said, adding: “He is a driven man.”
DDa behind Andre until further notice? I see nothing wrong with that. DDA can find his form and fight for his place on the starting team - good cover at 12.
13 is very open in the air for me right now. Kriel will start against the Scots. But Moodie for me is the future. Give him a run between Scotland and Ireland - please!!