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'Looking good': Esterhuizen on Springboks recall and Owen Farrell

Andre Esterhuizen cops a much-debated 2018 tackle from Owen Farrell (Photo by Adam Davy/PA Images via Getty Images)

Harlequins midfielder Andre Esterhuizen has spoken about his chances of a Springboks recall this month and about this weekend’s appetising prospect of getting to run at Owen Farrell for the first time since being on the receiving end of that infamous tackle from the England player in November 2018.

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The 28-year-old South African powerhouse won the last of his eight Test caps in August 2019, missing out on World Cup finals selection, but he is now back on the Springboks radar and tipped for a recall for the upcoming three-Test series versus Wales next month.

Asked during an appearance on this week’s The Rugby Pod about his Springboks situation, Esterhuizen commented: “Obviously, we are chatting at the moment to see how things go.

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“They will only announce the squad once South African teams fall out of the URC. Two teams are in the semi-final this weekend so we will see what happens but there is a lot of chat at the moment. I can’t say too much but it’s looking good.”

Switching to this Saturday’s Gallagher Premiership semi-final which will see defending champions Harlequins put their title on the line at Saracens, Esterhuizen referenced the fierce rivalry between both clubs and the prospect of him playing against Farrell for the first time in four years since that X-rated no arms wrapped tackle was deemed legal at Twickenham.

Farrell nailed Esterhuizen with a huge tackle in the final minutes of that England win and referee Angus Gardner deemed the hotly debated challenge as fair. “It’s actually the first time we have played against each other again since that game,” said Esterhuizen. “It’s a normal question, I actually run at every ten every weekend so if he is playing ten I am probably going to run at him. We’ll see what happens.

“Yeah, it’s spoken about every game we play them,” he added about the Quins-Sarries rivalry. “I understand 100 per cent the hatred between the two clubs. It’s a very emotional game for both sides. It is going to be a big one and I’m looking forward to it a lot.”

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Belson 881 days ago

“ Farrell nailed Esterhuizen with a huge tackle”. What absolute GARBAGE!! The very definition of FAKE NEWS. He did no such thing! He launched an illegal shoulder charge into the face of Esterhuizen and the corrupt officials chose to look the other way, just like they always do when the victim is South African.

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JWH 37 minutes ago
Are the All Blacks doomed to a 70% flatline?

Interesting take, crazy to see the amount of delulu NZ fans here. I am an NZ fan, but this is atrocious.


I am fine with 75%+, in fact I think that is excellent, but the main point of anguish is not IF we win or lose, it is how. I think that Razor has finally got us playing to our identity again; flowing, simple, and brutally decisive & efficient.


There are certainly some issues that the stats reflect, like the scrum and lineout. However, at scrum time, there isn't really much variation, in terms of attack, you can put on that. So at the end of the day, not much to do differently apart from 'scrum better'.


However, the lineout is quite interesting. As Ryan said earlier this week, the ABs have added a lot of depth and combinations to their lineout, with FOUR lineout options (Barrett, Vaai, Savea, Sititi). While they did only retain 80% possession from lineouts (not great), the stat line is actually 12/15, which is pretty good, considering Aumua did all those lineout with limited experience and tiredness after playing 75 minutes at Twickenham.


There are also some really good stats to back up the ABs. They managed to stay out of their own 22 for a lot of the game, however they also didn't set up camp in the opp 22 often either. They are also passing the ball a lot, clocking in at 211 passes, double that of England. These stats show a return to attacking, flowing rugby, and not playing your own 22, which is the ABs style.


What I think Razor wants to do is make effective use of draw and pass, simple rugby. This can be pre or post contact, but you have to draw more than 1 player. For example, that Sititi offload to Telea, or BB to Jordan. Those were excellent, yet overall simple passages of rugby This can be risky at times (just watch DMac play), but it is a medium risk high reward gameplan.


What we Kiwis want is exciting rugby. We want hard defense, big hits, cool plays, and quick linebreaks. I cannot imagine being an SA fan between 2018-2021, which was one of the most boring rugby teams of all time (respectfully). I also cannot imagine being an England fan right now, so dull. But the ABs are making rugby exciting again, playing like Scotland and Fiji, but better.

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