'Looking good': Esterhuizen on Springboks recall and Owen Farrell

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.”