Esterhuizen gets his chance in third Test

THE England backline is to be rudely acquainted with a prime chunk of Klerksdorp beef tomorrow at Newlands in the form of blockbusting new Springbok centre Andre Esterhuizen.

Esterhuizen has been given his big break by Bok coach Rassie Erasmus, who yesterday named the Sharks man in a revamped backline for the third and final Test against Eddie Jones’ tourists.

The 24-year-old will partner the recalled outside centre Jesse Kriel in a backline that also provides an opportunity for another Super Rugby form player, Warrick Gelant, who is in for Willie le Roux, while at flyhalf, Elton Jantjies has an opportunity to state his case.

Rested is last week’s midfield of Damian de Allende and Lukhanyo Am, flyhalf Handré Pollard and Le Roux. The latter two players are retained on the bench.

There is a sole change to the forwards, with veteran Chiliboy Ralepelle given an opportunity, while Schalk Brits covers him from the bench.

Esterhuizen is one of the weightier centres in world rugby at 110kgs and, at 1.94m tall, he towers over most opposite numbers.

He has a reputation for throwing that considerable bulk around to the advantage of his team but it is his new-found distribution and kicking skills that have made him an all-round centre.

He has been sensational in Super Rugby for the Sharks and on that form Erasmus brought him into the Springbok squad to make his debut in Washington at the beginning of June in the narrow defeat to Wales.

That damp squib of a match was instantly forgettable for most of the players involved but Esterhuizen was one of the few to enhance his reputation.

Esterhuizen, who was, in fact, chris- tened Adriaan Pieter, is something of a gentle giant off the field, and he jokes that his rugged approach to centre play is down to a toss-up between his father’s rugby-playing genes and his childhood on the “wrong side of the tracks”.

“My dad played club rugby until he was 42 and he gave me a tough upbringing in rugby, but then I am also from Klerksdorp!” he laughs.

“Two years ago they tried to turn me into a flank because I was strong with ball in hand, but thankfully that did not work out and I have evolved my game plenty of late,” he says.

Esterhuizen, who has won half a dozen Man of the Match awards for the Sharks this season, says his game evolved during his time last year with the Sanix Blues.

He explains that the different approach to the game in Japan forced him to change the way he has traditionally played.

“The game is a lot faster in Japan and you tend to run from everywhere,” he said. “You think nothing about running from your 22 and there is little focus on kicking for territory.”

It logically follows that handling the ball so much more is going to improve your distribution skills.

In addition, Esterhuizen said that a foreign player in a Japanese club gets a number of rest breaks – there is a limit to the number of foreign-born players a team can field in a match – and that meant more time to work on his skills with coaches such as Carlos Spencer, the former All Black flyhalf.

“Carlos helped me a lot with my kicking and passing,” Esterhuizen said. “I got the confidence there to distribute. There is less pressure in Japanese club rugby and errors are not as heavily punished as they are in Super Rugby where a mistake can easily result in a try for the opposition.

“In Japan you can make an error and the game just continues,” he explained. “I developed the self-confidence to play more and try what I wanted. When I came back to the Sharks I felt comfortable to carry on playing the same way.”

Esterhuizen says that his kicking skills have always been there but were put on hold when he first came to the Sharks in 2014, the year he was a firstchoice centre for the SA Under-20 team.

“In Klerksdorp, I was a big kicker of the ball, maybe because it goes such a long way on the highveld, and I kind of forgot that aspect of my game when I came to Durban, but I have been encouraged to use my boot again, although my instinct is to attack. It is just nice to have that option of being able to kick long distances when required.”

South Africa: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 S’bu Nkosi, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 André Esterhuizen, 11 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 RG Snyman, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 1 Beast Mtawarira.

Reserves: 16 Schalk Brits, 17 Steve Kitshoff, 18 Thomas du Toit, 19 Jean-Luc du Preez, 20 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Handré Pollard, 23 Willie Roux.

England: 15 Elliot Daly, 14 Jonny May, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Owen Farrell (captain), 11 Mike Brown, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Chris Robshaw, 5 Maro Itoje, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Jamie George, 1 Joe Marler

Reserves: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Alec Hepburn, 18 Harry Williams, 19 Jonny Hill, 20 Mark Wilson, 21 Sam Simmonds, 22 Ben Spencer, 23 Denny Solomona

Kick-off: 5.05pm