'Its looking good': Esterhuizen on Bok recall
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Harlequins centre Andre Esterhuizen has opened up about his chances of a Springboks recall.
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.
“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.”
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Switching to this Saturday’s Premiership semi-final which will see defending champions Harlequins put their title on the line at Saracens, Esterhuizen referenced the fierce rivalry between both.
The centre also shed light on the prospect of playing against Owen Farrell for the first time in four years since the no arms tackle was deemed legal at Twickenham.
Farrell made an infamous no-arms tackle on Esterhuizen during the Springboks match against England in November 2018.
The incident happened late in the final minutes of the England win where 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.”
He added: “[The rivalry between Harlequins and Saracens] it’s spoken about every game we play them.
“I understand 100 percent 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.”
By Liam Heagney, Rugbypass
