Interview ‘I’m too South African to play for England’
Andre Esterhuizen, the 2022 Eterlast RPA Players’ Player of the Year, could face Harlequins team-mates at the World Cup
It is official: England supporters can snuff out any torches they were holding for Andre Esterhuizen.
Provided that South Africa do not come calling before then, Aug 17 will mark three years since the exceptional centre’s last Test cap. According to new eligibility rules that came into force last November, Esterhuizen would be allowed to represent another nation, were he to qualify through birth or family heritage, at that point. A low chuckle greets the obvious question. “No,” confirms the 28-year-old, who has been voted as the Premiership players’ player of the season. “I’m too South African for that! I’ve got no ancestors in the UK or any other country.”
There is more ominous news for fans of rival nations. Thanks to his phenomenal form with Harlequins, Esterhuizen is back on the Springboks’ radar. He has been involved in recent alignment camps and is acting upon technical pointers.
“A big thing for me has been ball placement,” Esterhuizen reveals. “[In the past] I might have had a good carry, but when I went to ground, my ball placement was bad. Although I was over the gain-line, the ball wouldn’t come out quick.
“That’s one of the things that Felix Jones, one of the South Africa coaches, made me aware of. There are always small things in your own game that you might not see.” Jones, a meticulous lieutenant of Jacques Nienaber and Rassie Erasmus, is renowned for such subtle nuances. Esterhuizen deserves credit, too. His carrying has been so destructive that it might have been easy to become a one-trick stallion. Instead, he has diversified impressively. Jerry Flannery, the Harlequins assistant coach and a contemporary of Jones at Munster, likened Esterhuizen to “a tighthead lock playing in the 12 jersey” after a man-of-the-match performance against Exeter Chiefs in January.
He has won games with powerful breakdown turnovers. His left-footed kicking is becoming more prominent. A fizzing cut-out pass to free Joe Marchant on Saturday, as Harlequins secured a play-off spot by overturning Gloucester 28-24 at Twickenham, illustrated skilful distribution. When they dovetail in midfield, Esterhuizen and Marcus Smith are horribly difficult to contain.
“If a team sees you as a ball-carrying centre who is just going to run straight and hard, it’s quite easy to defend and they can put an extra defender in front of you,” explains Esterhuizen, who highlights the influence of two more Harlequins coaches in Nick Evans and Charlie Mulchrone. “If you keep them guessing – are you going to run straight or are you going to pull the ball back to Marcus? – it keeps them on their toes and that’s how you create one-on-ones.” Wary of how opponents can “start to figure you out”, Esterhuizen says he was eager to “adapt” and “add variety”. He certainly poses a beastly this award indicates. In truth, Esterhuizen might have bagged it last season without two separate red cards that sidelined him for a total of 10 weeks.
The first, for an elbow on Lloyd Evans, the Gloucester fly-half, he describes as “stupid and my fault”. The second, following an innocuous melee against London Irish, was harder to accept. Yet the suspension lasted into the play-offs. As it happened, Harlequins hijacked the top four and beat Bristol Bears to reach the final. Esterhuizen returned and delivered a rampaging, try-scoring display to sink Exeter. He rates the experience as “the best day of my career so far”, which is some compliment. Life as a Harlequin is good.
“We’ve got a lot of younger guys coming through at 22 and 23,” Esterhuizen says. “Cadan Murley is one of the best wingers in the whole of England at the moment. I’m one of the older guys and I don’t feel old, which is a good thing because the whole squad can build towards the future with the help of older guys like DC [Danny Care] and Joe [Marler]. It’s a special group and the boys love each other, which is why we all play for each other. The mix of youth and experience is perfect at the moment.”
Contracted until 2025, having agreed an extension last year, Esterhuizen has more to achieve besides his aim to return to the South Africa side. Put simply, he is on course to be regarded as one of the best overseas signings in Premiership history. With a likely semi-final against Saracens looming, Esterhuizen will spearhead Harlequins’ title defence.
“One of the toughest things to do is to go back to back,” he finishes. “You can’t just do the same thing and expect the same outcome. You need to evolve, grow and get even better. We’re the only team in the semi-finals last year to have made it through to the play-offs so far, which says a lot for the team.
“Now we’re at the business end, we need to get it right. If we do, it’d mean the world and be amazing. Hopefully we can peak at the right time and get another one.”
Esterhuizen is walking the talk with regard to evolution and improvement. The curiosity is whether he can find even more ways to torment his opponents.