Esterhuizen on the star-studded midfield battle with BaaBaas
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Against the Barbarians at Cape Town Stadium last year, Springbok centre Andre Esterhuizen faced his first challenge of packing down at the side of the scrum.
This time around against the invitational side, it’s in the midfield where he’ll face a big challenge.
The BaaBaas have named Munster’s Alex Nankivell and France international Virimi Vakatawa as their midfield pairing, while Esterhuizen will pair with Jesse Kriel to form an experienced centre pairing.
*READ: Springboks forced into flyhalf rethink as Quan Horn gets the nod
Nankivell was a key figure in the Irish club’s season, which saw them make the United Rugby Championship playoffs, while Vakatawa featured for the Fijians Drua in Super Rugby Pacific and boasts 32 Test caps for France.
Speaking during a media briefing on Wednesday, Esterhuizen explained what makes the Barbarians duo a “powerhouse centre pairing”.
“It’s obviously a powerhouse centre pairing – Nankivell is a very strong, abrasive runner with good offload skills and good distribution, so it’s going to be a good centre battle,” he said.
“We’ve all seen Vakatawa playing for France, he’s a very experienced player, he’s been around, and he’s also a very good ball-carrier. I’m excited for the challenge, it’s going to be a good one. I can’t wait for this weekend.”
The BaaBaas are known for their attacking flair and innovation, but Esterhuizen asserted that the South Africans won’t be diverting from their own game to combat Scott Robertson’s team and that they will treat the non-cap game as a proper Test match.
“We’re very excited for this season to begin, and hopefully we start it off on a high. I think everyone is very excited to be in this squad environment, we’re training hard and everything’s been going well.
“We just want to go out and play our game. I know it’s the Barbarians game that everyone looks at and thinks it can be loose, and they might be or they might try and make it loose, but we’re just going to stick to our processes as we do in every other game.
“For us it’s a normal Test, and that’s how we’re going to handle it and hope to be successful in that way.”
Bok coach Rassie Erasmus sprung a surprise at flyhalf, with Lions fullback Quan Horn named at 10.
When asked if the hybrid role was going to become a bigger feature, Esterhuizen explained that it’s not something they are specifically trying to develop, but rather that the versatility of a number of the players in the Bok squad makes it easy for players to make a transition if needed.
“We have so many utility players anyway, so there are a few players training in different positions, like you’ve seen with Quan at 10. It’s not something we put all our focus on, it’s an extra, a nice to have, but it’s not something we’re going out to develop,” he explained.
“I think there’s more than enough cover in the squad and a lot of players can play different positions. Everyone knows who’s going where and who’s going to what position if something happens. Everyone is sorted and everyone knows exactly what to do.”
The Springboks will take on the Barbarians at 3pm on Saturday, while the SA ‘A’ will play Zimbabwe in the curtain-raiser at 12.00 SA Time (10.00 GMT)
