WHEN Springbok defence coach Jerry Flannery was at Harlequins, he described André Esterhuizen as a “tighthead prop in a No 12 jersey”.
The burly Esterhuizen has the physical dimensions to play anywhere in the pack, and joined the London club with a reputation as a sledgehammer centre.
But by the time he left Quins a few months back, he had added silly passing skills and neat grubber kicks to his arsenal, and has developed a siege gun left boot.
We have seen these skills of late in his games for the Sharks.
The 30-year-old was exceptional in the Currie Cup semi-final and final, and in the Sharks’ recent tour game against Connacht, he delivered a first-half master class that was a big reason for the Durbanites rattling up 28 points in half an hour.
Jurenzo Julius 👉 Ethan Hooker 👉 Andre Esterhuizen 👉 Jaden Hendrikse = Pure Magic 🪄✨@Vodacom #URC | #DRAvSHA pic.twitter.com/vFIgez98dN
— Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial_RSA) October 5, 2024
He said that his attacking game was always going to flourish at Harlequins, a side that is renowned for running the ball, and which boasts supreme attackers in halfbacks Danny Care and Marcus Smith.
“My ball distribution is much better,” Esterhuizen, who spent five years in England, told Afrikaans newspaper Rapport. “It’s about the kind of game that Harlequins play. They love running rugby.”
Springbok attack coach Tony Brown would have noticed Esterhuizen’s improved all-round game, and while Damian de Allende is deservedly entrenched at No 12, it is worth noting that the latter turns 33 next month.
About Saturday🤩@vodacom #URC #DRAvSHA pic.twitter.com/wgFUgPk58E
— The Sharks (@SharksRugby) October 7, 2024
Esterhuizen is nearly three years De Allende’s junior, and is on course for some solid time at No 12 in the future – perhaps starting with the Bok November tour to the UK.
“I definitely learned or improved quite a few new skills,” Esterhuizen said.
“I’ve always been able to do some of those things, but in every team, you play with a different game-plan.
“You are influenced by who you play with. Next to me, I had Marcus and Danny, who are world-class attacking players. This also helps and makes you look better. My versatility has improved.”
The 114kg, 1.95m giant has come a long way since he first joined the Sharks in 2012 straight from school in Klerksdorp, having been talent-spotted while playing Craven Week for the Leopards in 2011.
“I came from Leopards country, but we have always been a proudly Sharks family,” he recalled.
“My father instilled a love of the Sharks in the family. His hero was Gary Teichmann, who would become my boss for a period (when he was CEO of the Sharks), so maybe I was always destined to play most of my rugby in Durban.”
Esterhuizen, who is in fact named Adriaan Pieter, reckons his rugged approach to centre play is down to a toss-up between his father’s rugby-playing genes and the locality of his upbringing.
“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 laughed.
In his early days at the Sharks, the coaches tried to reinvent him as a flank.
“Thankfully that did not work out, and I have been coached into distributing the ball,” he said.
“My game has come a long way, and I have had so many positive influences that have made me the better player that I am today.”
Esterhuizen adds that he has rediscovered his kicking game, and that could again be influential in Saturday’s United Rugby Championship encounter against Benetton in Treviso (4pm kick-off).
“In Klerksdorp, I was a big kicker of the ball, but in my first stint at the Sharks, I kind of forgot that aspect of my game.
“But I have been encouraged to use my boot again. I have been playing for attacking teams, but it is nice to have that option of being able to kick long distances when required.”
The modest Esterhuizen certainly learned a lot in London, but he also had a major impact on the fortunes of Harlequins.
In 2022, he was voted the best player in England by his fellow professionals across the land, a priceless accolade that reinforced the wisdom of then-Bok coach Jacques Nienaber’s decision to bring him back into the fold after a three-year absence.