Springboks star expecting tough battle against Scotland duo who ‘tore up defences’
Springboks centre Andre Esterhuizen.
Springboks inside centre Andre Esterhuizen is preparing for a tough assignment when the world champions kick off their end-of-year campaign against Scotland at Murrayfield on Sunday.
Esterhuizen has seen limited game-time for South Africa in 2024 as he has been on the sidelines for most of the international season due to injury and suspension.
The 2023 Rugby World Cup winner was in action in South Africa’s victory over Wales at Twickenham earlier this year before starting against Portugal in Bloemfontein in July.
However, he saw little game-time against Os Lobos as he was red-carded in the second minute of the match.
Expects a tough challenge against Scotland
The 30-year-old subsequently received a four-match suspension and also struggled with a shoulder injury. That means he is eager to see action against Scotland this weekend and although the Boks will head into that clash as favourites, Esterhuizen expects a difficult challenge from the home side.
He referenced the previous encounter between these teams at last year’s World Cup in France when the Boks held a slender 6-3 half-time lead in a pool match at the global showpiece before eventually sealing an 18-3 victory.
“It’s certainly going to be a tough game,” said Esterhuizen. “The match against them in the World Cup last year was not a walk in the park, as we saw at halftime, so it will be an intense battle.
“They’ll also make the breakdowns messy, but we are looking forward to facing them.”
The hard-running Sharks centre further supported his statement by mentioning how close the margins are between the top sides in World Rugby’s official rankings.
“Any team in the top 10 in the world can beat one another on the day, so the focus for us before each match is to try to be the best we can to get the desired results,” added Esterhuizen.
Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus will only announce his matchday squad for Sunday’s clash on Friday, but Esterhuizen said should he be in the mix, it would be an intense midfield battle with the Scottish team boasting quality centres in the likes of skipper Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones.
“They are strong centres and great individual players – I’ve watched many games where they tore up defences,” he said.
‘The midfield battle will be big’
“I obviously played with Huw when I was at Harlequins, and Tuipulotu is a hard runner and good ball carrier, so the midfield battle will be big.”
Looking back at his days at Harlequins when they faced the Glasgow Warriors – who were crowned the United Rugby Championship winners last season – the powerful centre said although most of the players in the Scotland side are from the club, facing them at international level was a completely different challenge.
“Glasgow and Scotland are two different teams, and although their players make up the bulk of the Scottish team when they put on this jersey the players have a different mentality, so we are expecting them to be very determined against us,” said Esterhuizen.
“Obviously we are hoping to win the match, but we know it’s going to be a massive battle.”
