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'Looking good': Esterhuizen on Springboks recall and Owen Farrell
By Liam Heagney
Harlequins midfielder Andre Esterhuizen has spoken about his chances of a Springboks recall this month and about this weekend’s appetising prospect of getting to run at Owen Farrell for the first time since being on the receiving end of that infamous tackle from the England player in November 2018.
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.”
Switching to this Saturday’s Gallagher Premiership semi-final which will see defending champions Harlequins put their title on the line at Saracens, Esterhuizen referenced the fierce rivalry between both clubs and the prospect of him playing against Farrell for the first time in four years since that X-rated no arms wrapped tackle was deemed legal at Twickenham.
Farrell nailed Esterhuizen with a huge tackle in the final minutes of that England win and 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.
“Yeah, it’s spoken about every game we play them,” he added about the Quins-Sarries rivalry. “I understand 100 per cent 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.”
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Latest Comments
SCW really dislikes Eddie, doesn't he?
His words in 2019 before the RWC final that he now says should have resulted in Eddie's firing:
"Was Saturday’s sensational World Cup semi-final win over New Zealand England’s greatest ever performance? Yes, unquestionably, would be my answer."
So let's fire the coach one game later? Duh!
Go to commentsIreland have every right to back themselves for a win. But the key variable has little to do with recent record etc.
The reality is that Ireland are a settled team with tons of continuity, an established style, and a good depth chart, whereas NZ are fundamentally rebuilding. The questions are all about what Razor is doing and how far along he is in that program.
NZ are very close to really clicking. Against England all of the chatter is about how England could have closed out a win, but failed to do so. This has obscured the observation that NZ were by far the more creative and effective in attack, beyond the 3-1 try differential and disallowed tries. They gave away a lot of unnecessary penalties, and made many simple errors (including knock-ons and loose kicks). Those things are very fixable, and when they do so we are once again going to be staring at a formidable NZ team.
Last week we heard the England fans talking confidently about their chances against NZ, but England did not end up looking like the better team on the field or the scoreboard. The England defense was impressive enough, but still could not stop the tries.
Ireland certainly has a better chance, of course, but NZ is improving fast, and I would not be surprised at a convincing All Black win this week. It may turn on whether NZ can cut out the simple mistakes.
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